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Microfiche 

Series. 


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CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historccai  IVIicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductione  historiques 


Tttchnical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquat 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  fi'<ning.  Features  of  this 
ropy  which  may  be  bibliographically  uniq*i3, 
which  may  ritar  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□    Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  ds  couleur 

□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagda 

□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculAe 


D 


0 
D 


D 


D 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
apgsear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certainas  pages  blanches  ajouttas 
lors  d  una  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film6es. 

Additional  comment^:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires; 


L'Institut  a  mirrofilmi  le  meilleur  exemplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  ^t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normals  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


r~n   Coloured  pages/ 


D 

I I 


This  item  is  filmed  at  tha  reduction  ratio  checked  balovw'/ 

Ce  document  est  filmi  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessoi^tt 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 


□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdas  et/ou  pelliculies 

□    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

□Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualit^  indgala  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  matdrial  suppldmentaire 


r~n    Showthrough/ 

r~~|    Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


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Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  pait-ally  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film6es  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

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12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thank* 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library, 

Geological  Survey  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  hera  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  kee^ting  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  bask  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginnirg  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ->»>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


1 

2 

3 

L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
g^nirositi  de: 

Bibliothdque. 

Comminion  Gtoloc'que  du  Canada 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 

Les  exemplaues  originadx  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimis  sent  fiim^s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'improssion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  bmpreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernfire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »>  signifio  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbo;e  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tabieaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichi.  il  est  film6  d  partir 
da  I'angle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m6thode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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LIRRARY  UATALOQUE  SMPS. 

United  States.    Department  of  the  inlerior.    ( U.  <y.  geologieal  survey). 

Departtiient  of  tlie  interior  |  —  |  Moiiograplis  |  of  the  I  United 
States  geological  survey  |  Volutno  XVI  |  [Soul  of  the  du]>art- 
ineiitT  I 

Wasliingtoii  |  govormneiit  print'ig  ofHco  |  1889 

Second  title:  United  States  geological  snrvey  |  J.  W.  Powell, 
director  j  —  |  The  paleozoic  fishes  |  of  |  North  America  |  by  |  John 
Stroiig  Newberry  |  [Vignette]  | 

Washington  |  goveruuieat  printing  office  |  1889 

4°.    340  pp.  S3  pi. 


6 


Newberry  (Jolin  Strong). 

United  States  geological  snrvey  |  J.  W.  rowoll,  director  |  —  | 
Th(>  paleozoic  fishes  |  of  |  North  America  |  by  \  John  Strong  New- 
berry I  [Vignette]  | 

Washington  |  government  printing  office  |  1889 

4°.    340  pp.  53  pi. 

[UxrrKD  Statrh.  Department  of  the  interior.  ( F.  S.  geologieal  lureey). 
Monograph  XVI]. 


United  States  geological  snrvey  |  J.  W.  Powell,  director  |  —  | 
The  paleozoic  fishcH  |  of  |  North  America  |  by  |  John  Strong  New- 
berry I  [Vignette]  | 

Washington  |  gjvernmout  printing  oflico  |  1839 

4°.    340  pp.  .w  pi. 

I  United  States.  Department  of  the  interior.  {U.  S.  geotogieeU  lurviy). 
Mouogrnph  XVI]. 


iili«.HIKy;gir.,s;;3; 


\     ) 


-BK" 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

[Monograph  XVI.] 


Tlifl  piiblicntions  of  thn  ITiiited  Stjites  Geological  Survey  are  issued  in  accordance  with  the  statute 
approved  March  :t,  1879,  whieli  declarcN  that— 

"The  puhlleatieiiH  of  the  Geolo^jleal  Survey  hIuiII  couHist  of  the  annual  report  of  operatiouH  i;eo- 
loKuml  andeciuKuuic  uiapH  illuHtratiUK  the  reHonrceN  and  clatwltieatiou  of  tlu^  lands,  iiud  reportHupon 
general  and  economic  Keology  and  paleontology.  The  annual  report,  of  operalloUH  of  the  (JeoloLncal 
Survey  .shall  aecouipany  the  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  All  Mpc^cial  uienioirH  and 
reports  of  Haiil  Survey  nliall  lie  issued  in  unitorui  quarto  series  if  deenuMl  necess.iry  by  the  Director  but 
othci  wise  in  ordinary  octavos.  Throe  thousand  copies  of  eac  i  shall  ho  published  for  scientilie  exchiinL'es 
and  for  sale  at  the  priceof  publication;  and  all  literary  and  cartographic  materials  received  in  exchaiVue 
shall  be  the  property  of  the  United  States  anil  form  a  part  of  the  libraiyof  the  orf,Mnization :  And  the 
•  money  resulting  trom  the  sale  of  such  publicatious  shall  be  covered  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States." 

On  .Tuly  7, 18fei>,  the  following  joint  resolution,  referring  to  all  Government  publications,  was 
passed  by  Congress :  ,.  ,     » 

"That  whenever  any  docinnout  or  report  shall  bo  ordered  printed  by  Congress,  there  shall  be 
printed,  in  addition  to  the  number  in  each  case  stated,  the  'usual  iinmber'  (1,1)00)  of  copies  for  bindiiiL' 
and  distribution  among  those  entitled  to  receive  them." 

Except  in  those  cases  in  which  an  extra  number  of  any  publication  has  been  supplied  to  the  .Sur- 
vey by  special  resolution  of  Congress  or  has  been  ordered  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  thit  olHce 
has  no  copies  for  gratuitous  distribution. 


pp. 

1882. 
1H83. 
188/i. 
1385. 
1I?8C. 
1888. 
18i3!». 
188J». 


\V 


ANNUAL  REPORTS. 

I.  First  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  by  Clarence  King.    1880. 
1  map.— A  preliminary  report  describing  plan  of  organixation'aud  iMiblieations. 

II.  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1880-'H1,  by  J.  W 
8"-'.     Iv,  ,'188  pp.    til  pi.     I  map. 

III.  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1881-'82,  by  .1.  \V 
8''.     xviii,  ."itM  pp.    (57  p!.  and  iiiaiis. 

IV.  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  tlio  United  States  Geological  Survey,  lH82-'8:(,  by  .1 
8".    xxxii,  47:1  pp.    8.')  pi.  and  m.ips. 

V.  Fifth  Aiiiiual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  189:5-'84,  bv  J. 
8*^.    xxxvi,  4()1»  p  ..    .'■.8  Id.  and  mai.8. 

VI.  Sixth  Annual  Ri'port  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  I8H4-W1,  bv  .T 
8".    xxix,  r>70  pp.    0,5  pi.  aid  maps. 

VII.  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  18H5-'86,  by  .J.  W. 
8".     XX,  (i.'iC)  pp.     72  pi.  and  maps. 

VIII.  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1m86-'87,  bv  .1  W. 
8".    8v.     XX,  lOtilipp.     76  pi.  and  maps.  .     .y     ■  »»• 

IX.  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  United  Slates  Geological  Survey,  1887-'88,  by  J.  W 
8°.    xiii,  717pp.    88  pi.  and  maps. 

The  Tenth  Annual  Report  is  in  press. 


\V, 


H°.  7".t 
Powell. 
Powell. 
Powell. 
Powell. 
I'ow.'ll. 
Powell. 
Powell. 
Powell. 


1882. 
1882. 


151, 


MONOGRAPHS. 
Monograph  I  is  in  press. 

II.  Tertiary  History  of  the  Grand  CaHon  District,  with  atks,  by  Clarence  E.  Dutton,  Capt.,  U.  S  A 
4^^.     XIV,  264  pp.    42  pi.  and  atlas  of  24  .sheets  folio.     Price  $10.12. 

III.  Geology  of  the  Comstock  Lode  and  the  Washoe  District,  with  atlas,  by  George  F.  Becker. 
4^.    XV,  422  pp.    7  pi.  -jud  athvs  of  21  sheets  folio.    Price  $11.00. 

ivV'"'!',*'*™'^  *''"'"*'' "'"^  **''""■"'''>''''''"• '^"'"■'l-     ^^^-     l'^-     xiv,  4f>lpp.     :tpl.     Price  IIL.'-.O 
V.  r?f'' Copper- Bearing  Rocks  of  Lake  Superior,  by  Roland  Duer  Irving.    1883.   '!^.    xvi.464i>i>. 
29pI.auOri\iapa.    Price  $1.85.  •        11 

I 


.^m 


agana 


II 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Vr.  Contributions  ;o  the  Knowledge  of  the  Older  Mngozoio  Flora  of  Virginia,  by  William  Morris 
Fontaine.     188:».    4^     xi   144  pp.     Ml.    ri4  pi.     Price  $1.0.'). 

VII.  Silver-Lead  UipoBitH  of  Eureka,  Nevada,  by  Joseph  Story  Curtis.    1884.    4°.    xiil,  200  pp. 
16  pi.    Price  fl.'iO. 

VIII.  Paleontology  <f  the  Eureka  District,  by  Charles  DoolittleWaloott.    1884.    4".    xiii,298pp. 
241.    24  pi.     Price  11.10.  ,    ,      ,„       . 

IX.  Brachiopoda  and  Lamellibrnnchiata  of  the  Karitau  Clays  and  Greensand  Marls  of  New  Jersey, 
by  Robert  P.  Whitlield.     HWi.    4".     xx,  3:18  pp.     :«i  pi.     1  map.    Price  Jl. 15. 

X.  Dinocerata.    A  i'onograpli  of  an  Extinct  Order  of  Gigantic  Maniiiials,  by  Othuiel  Charles 
Marsh.     1886.    4°.     xviii,  V43pp.     ri6 1.    W!  pi.     Price  J2.70. 

XI.  Geol  --    -     -    - 
Cook 

xiil.  beology^ofthe  Quicksilver  Deposits  of  the  Pacilic  Slone,  with  atlas,  by  George  F.  Becker. 
1888.    4°.     xlx,  480  pp.     7  pi.  and  atlas  of  14  sheets  folio.     Price  ifcj.OO. 

XIV.  Fossil  Fishes  and  Fossil  Plants  of  the  Triassic  Rocks  of  New  Jersey  and  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  bv  John  8.  Newberry.     1888.     4".     xiv,  1.52  pp.    26  pi.     Price  «1.0". 

XV.  The  Potomac  or  Younger  Mesozoic  Flora,  by  William  Morris  Fontaine,     1889.     4°.     xiv, 
377  pp.     IK.' pi.     Text  and  plates  bonnd  separately.     Price  82.50. 

XVI.  Tlie  Paleozoic  Fishes  of  North  A   lerica,   by  John  Strong  Newberry.     1889.    4°.    340  pp. 
53  pi.    Price  $1.00. 

In  pess: 

I.  Lake  Bonneville,  by  G.  K.  Gilbert. 

In  preparation : 

—Description  of  New  Fossil  Plants  from  the  Dakota  Gronp,  by  Leo  Lcsqnereux. 
—Gasteropoda  of  the  New  Jersey  Cretaceous  and  Eocene  Marls,  by  R.  P.  Whitfield. 
—Geology  of  the  Eureka  Mining  District,  Nevada,  with  atlas,  by  Arnold  Hague. 
— Sauropoda,  by  O.  C.  Marsh. 
— Slegosiiuria,  by  O.  C.  Marsh. 

— Broiitotheridu),  by  O.  C.  Marsh.  ,  t%   i     ■ 

—The  Penokee  Iron  Bearing  Series  of  Northern  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  by  Roland  D.  Irving 
and  C.  R.  Van  Hise. 

—Report  oil  the  Denver  Coal  Basin,  by  S.  F.  Eiuiiions. 

—Report  on  Silver  Cliff  and  Ten-Mile  Mi-iiug  Districts,  Colorado,  by  8.  F.  Emmons. 

—Flora  of  the  Dakota  Gronp,  by  J.  S.  Newberry. 

— The  Glacial  Lake  Agassiz,  by  Warren  llpham. 

— Geology  of  the  Potomac  Formation  in  Virginia,  by  W.  M,  Fontaine. 


BULLETINS. 

1.  On  HyjierstheneAnilesite  and  on  Triclinic  Pyroxene  in  Augitic  Rocks,  by  Whitman  Cross,  with 
a  Geological  Sketch  of  Biiftalo  Peaks,  Colorado,  by  S.  F.  Emmons.  1883.  8".  42  pp.  2  pi.  Price  10 
cents.  ,  „  ... 

2.  Gold  iviid  Silver  Conversion  Tables,  giving  the  Coining  values  ot  troy  ounces  of  tine  metal,  etc., 
ootrputod  by  Albert  Williams,  jr.     1883.    8^;.    8  pp.     Price  5  cents. 

3.  On  the  Fossil  Fuunas  of  the  Upper  Devonian,  along  the  meridian  of  76^'  30',  from  Tomnkins 
County,  N.  Y.,  to  Bradford  County,  Pa.,  by  Henry  a.  Williams.     1884.     8^.    36  pp.    Price  5  cents. 

4.  On  Mesozoic  Fossils,  by  Charles  A.  White.     1884.     8".    36  pp.     9  pi.     Price  5  cents. 

6.  ADictionaryof  Altitudes  in  the  United  States,  compiled  by  Henry  Gannett.    1884.    8°.    325  pp. 

Price  20  cents.  ™        ..  „  .      . 

6.  Elevations  in  the  Oominion  of  Canada,  by  J.  W.  Spencer.     1884.    8°.     4o  pp.    Price  a  cents. 

7.  MapotecaOeologicaAiiit^ricana.  ACatalogiieof  Geoloijical  Maps  of  Aiiiorica(North  and  South), 
17.52-1881,  in  geographic  and  chronologic  order,  by  Jules  Marcou  and  John  Belknap  Marcou.  1884. 
8°.     184  pp.     Price  10  cents.  ,    ,     .  ,  /^  d 

8.  On  Secondary  Eiilarscmeiits  of  Mineral  Fragments  iu  Certain  Rocks,  by  R.  D.  Irving  and  C.  K. 
Van  Hise.     1884.    8".    .56  pp.    t>  pi.     Price  10  cents. 

9.  A  Report  of  work  ilono  in  the  Washington  Laboratory  during  the  fiscal  year  188:1-84.  F.  W. 
Clarke,  chief  clicmist;  T.  M.  Chatard,  assistant  chemist.     1884.    8°.     40  pp.     Price  5  cents. 

10.  On  the  Cambrian  Faunas  of  North  America.  Preliminary  studies,  by  Charles  Doolittle  Wal- 
cott.     1884.     8°.    74  pp      10  pi.     Price  5  cents.  ^ »,       „ 

11.  On  the  Quaternary  and  Recent  MoIUisca  of  the  Great  Biutiii ;  with  Descriptions  of  New  V  onus, 
by  R.  Ellswjirth  Call.  Introduced  bv  a  sketch  of  the  Quaternary  Lakes  of  the  Great  Basin,  by  G.  K. 
Gilbert.     1884.    8°.     66  pp.     6  pi.     Price  5  cents. 

12.  A  Crystallographic  Study  of  the  Thinolito  of  Lake  Lahontan,  by  Edward  8.  Dana.  1884.  8°. 
34  pp.    3  pi.     Price  5  cents.  .  ,      „.  ^     .     , 

13.  Boundaries  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States  and  Territories,  with  a  Historical 
Sketch  ofthe  Territorial  Changes,  by  Henry  Gannett.     1885.    8".     135  pp.    Price  1»  cents. 

14.  The  Electrical  and  Magnetic  Proi>erues  of  the  Iron-Carburets,  by  Carl  Barns  aud  Vincent 
Stroubal.    1885.    8°,    238  pp.    Price  15  OAut«. 


ADVERTISKMENT. 


ni 


15.  On  the  Mosozoic  mid  Cenozoio  Puluoiilology  of  Culirnruin,  by  CIiurli-H  A.  Wliito.  1885.  8°. 
33  pp.     I'rico  5  centH. 

U).  On  tlii^  HinliiT  Dovonian  rauniisofOntiirii)  (,'(innty,Nc)\v  Vink,  by  Jubn  M.  Clarkn.  IHH,').  8". 
80  pji.     ;i  pi.     I'rico  fi  ciMils. 

17.  On  tlio  Uevoliipniunt  ol'CryHtalli/.ation  in  the  IjjnoonM  HdckH  ol'Wa»boe,  Nrvaila,  witb  Noti-M 
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—  Tlie  Viscosity  of  Solids,  by  Carl  Barns. 

,  «  .~  *^"  5  Groui;  of  Volcanic  Rocks  from  the  Tewan  Mountains,  New  Mexico,  and  on  the  occurrence 
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—  On  the  relations  of  the  Traps  of  the  Jura-Trias  of  New  Jersey,  by  N.  H.  Darton. 

—  Altitudes  between  Lake  Superior  an<l  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  Warren  Uphain. 

—  Mesozoic  Fossils  in  the  Permian  of  Texas,  by  C.  A.  White. 

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To  TUB   DiUF.CTOK   OF  THE 

United  States  Geological  Suiivey, 
WA8Hmo-n>N,  D.  C.  Jpnl.  1890.  Wa8.i.noton,  D.  C. 


DEPARTMENT   01''   TIIK    INTEUIOU 


V 


V>lUH,u 


MONOGRAPHS 


K    ..^M"^. 


V 


W   I'lIK 


United  States  Geological  Survey 


VOLUJNIE    XVI 


WASHINGTON 

aoVEBNMENT    PRINTING    OFFIOB 
1889 


I.. .<»»<«»<■•  ijiuixm  ii^t^mm^f^mifmmmmf^mifmiiimim^ 


I 


i  ; 


UNrri:i)  states  geological  survey 

J.  W.  I'OWKM,,  mRKCTOU 


I 


THE    rALEOZOKJ    FISHES 


ujr 


NORTH   AMEEICA 


ij^ 


JOHN    STRONa    NEWBERRY 


Tl 


i 


CONTHNTS. 


Letter  of  transmittal . 

Introduction - ^"^''j 

SSn.^'r  "V"'  Upper  siiuw;„vj;k;::;;:: ^^^- "":   13 

Part  IXrFisheB  of  tliB  Devonian  ago  x7 

Origin  of  tlie  Devonian  fishes  .      21 

StraMgr.,pUicaldistdb„tionofDov;ni;u;fi^^^^^ 26 

Sect,onA:F,shesoftlaeCornife.ouslimeston;::".: ^ 

Section  t'^."^*''"  CorniferouH  lin.estone 26 

Par^m    V   r      •  ^"^^^  "'■"'•'  Hamilton  group            - 29 

Partlll:  Fishes  of  the  Carboniferous  system         ^ ^^ 

Section  A:  Fishes  of  the  Chenumg  group 7i, 

Sec. on  B:  Fishes  of  the  CatskillVonp 82 

Sect. one:  Fishes  of  the  VVaverlygro.p " 106 

Section  D:  Fishes  of  the  Cleveland  shafo  120 

ihe  structure  and  relations  of  Dinichthys' 126 

ThefinsofDinichthys ; 135 

TheeyesofDinichtliys....       I44 

Siejoft? T' *'" «-''-'fe-u«iimo;;on;-::;::: "« 

seetj'-^r-rsrs^:---^----:::::::::::::::::::::;:  Z 

Plates                  «'"cture  and  relations  of  Edestus" !.' 210 

Index.:::::;: -':■■";:;;; ^i? 

-    289 

337 


SECSHI 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 


Plate 


I. 
II. 

Ill 
IV. 


VI. 
VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 


XIX. 


XX. 


TitanichlhTd  Agaflsizii,  Newb i232 

Titanichtbys  Ag.-^sHizii,  Nowb . 2.34 

Titanichthys  Clarkii,  Nowb 234 

Titanicbthyg  ClarK.i,  Nowb 2.36 

Diuicbthys  Terrolli,  Newb 238 

Titanichthys  Clarkii,  Nowb 238 

TitanichtbyH  Agassizii,  Nowb 238 

Diuicbthys  Tcrrelli,  Nowb 240 

Diuicbthys  iutormedius,  Newb 240 

Dinicbthys  Terrelli,  Nowb 242 

Dinichthys  Terrolli,  Newb 244 

Dinichthys  corrtigatus,  Newb 244 

Dinicbthys  miuor,  Nowb 246 

Diiiicbthys  Gonldii,  Newb 248 

Dinichthys  intormcdins,  Newb 250 

Diplognathus  mirabilis,  Nowb 252 

Diploguatbus  mirabilis,  Newb 254 

Glyptaspis  verrucosus,  Newb '. 256 

Mylostoma  variabilis,  Newb 256 

Mylostonia  Terrolli,  Ne-.vb 258 

Mylostoma  variabilis,  Nowb 260 

Mylostoma  variabilis,  Nowb 262 

Holonema  rugosa,  Clay  polo  (sp) 264 

Glyptoponius  Sayrei,  Newb 266 

Hothriolopis  Ijeidyi,  Newb 266 

Holiodus  Lesley i,  Newb 266 

Gyracanthus  ShorwoodI,  Hevb 266 

Ouyohodus  Ortoni,  Newb 268 

Oanorhyuchus  Beochori,  Nowb 268 

AntlioduB  arcuatus,  N.  &  W 268 

Polyrbizodus  Littoni,  N.  &  W 268 

PsammoduH  gljptus,  St.  J.  &W 268 

Labodus  murgiuatus.  Nowb 268 

Diuicbthys,  sp , 268 

Phyllolopis  dolicatula,  Nowb 268 

Holoptychius  Americanus,  Leidy 268 

Holoptychius  tuborculatus,  Nowb 268 

Holoptychius  gigantcus  f  Ag 268 

Orthoplourodus  carbonarius,  N.  t&  W.  (sp) 268 

Bothriolepis  Leidyi,  Nowb 270 

Botbriolepis  minor,  Newb 270 

Holoptychius  granulatus,  Nowb 270 

Holoptychius  IlalKi,  Newb 270 

Holoptychius  pustulosus,  Newb .. . 270 

Holoptychius  radiatus,  Nowb 270 

BphenophoTUB  Lilleyi,  Newb 270 

7 


wmmm 


■MM 


riii 


8 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Plate  XXI.  Mazodns  Kcplerl,  Ncwb 272 

Heteracanthus  jiolitits,  Nowb 272 

SandalodiiH  crivsaus,  N.  &  W 272 

Cladodns  concinuus,  Ncwb 2?2 

Harpacaiitbiis  fimbrintiiH,  Stock  (sp) 272 

FhyBonemns  etellatiis,  Nowb 272 

XXII.  Arcbtcobatia  gigas,  Newb 274 

XXIII.  ArcbiGobatia  giga.s,  Nowb 276 

Ctenacartbas  comproBsus,  Nowb 276 

Gyracantbiis  iuornatiis,  Nowb 276 

XXIV.  Stethacauthus  Altononsis,  St.  J.  &  W.  (sp) 278 

XXV.  Stethacanthus  tumidus,  Ncwb !>uo 

Ctenacanthus  Littoni,  Newb 280 

Astoroptycbins  clogans,  Nowb 280 

Hoplonohus  parvnliis,  Newb 280 

AcoQdylacantbus  Occident  alls,  Newb 280 

XXVI.  CtenacaDtbus  cylindricns,  Newb -^82 

Ctouacanthus  Clarkii,  Newb 282 

Ctenacanthus  Wrighti,  Nowb 282 

XXVII.  Potrodiis  Bntteraii,  Newb 284 

Cladodns  concinnus,  Nowb 284 

Cladodns  Tcrrelli,  Newb 284 

Cladodns  turaidns,  Newb... .' 284 

'.■'.-,  ...    Cladodns  Roiuingeri,  Nowb 284 

Qoniodns  Hortzori,  Newb 284 

C'vllognnthns  sorratns,  Nowb 284 

Calloguathns  regnlaris,  Nowb 284 

Ctenodn8(Diptorn8)  Nolsoni,  Newb 284 

t  Ctenodus  (Diptorns)  flabolliformis,  Newb 284 

Ctenodns  (Dipterns)  iovis,  Nowb 284 

Ctenodns  (Diptcrns)  qnadratns,  Nowb 284 

.  '  Ctenodns  (Diptorus)  miuntns,  Newb 884 

Phcobodns  politus,  Nowb 284 

Orodns  ramosus,  Ag 284 

Ctenodns  Wag.icri,  Newb 284 

Ctenodns  serratns,  Newb 284 

Dipterns  (Ctenodns)  Sheiwoodi,  Newb , 284 

Dipterns  (Ctenodns)  radiatus,  Newb 284 

XXVIII.  Rhynchodns  secans,  Nowb 286 

Ehynohodns  crassns,  Nowb 286 

Ctonacantuus  vetnstns,  Nowb 286 

XXIX,  Ehyncbodus  oxoavatns,  Newb 288 

Ebynchodns  frangens,  Newb 288 

MaobiBraoanthns  major,  Newb 288 

Maohasracanthns  snlcatns,  Newb 288 

Macbieracanthus  peracntn.s,  Newb 288 

XXX.  Asterostens  stonocepbnlns,  Newb 290 

Coceostens  ocoidentalis,  Newb 290 

Coccostena  deoipiens,  Ag 290 

Liognathna  apatnlatiis,  Nowb 290 

XXXI.  Acauthaspis  arniatns,  Newb 292 

Acantholepia  pnstnlosns,  Nowb 292 

XXXII.  Dinichthys  Toriolli,  Newb 294 

Dinicbtbys  Hertzeri,  Nowb 294 

DiDiohtbys  tuberculutus,  Newb 294 


; 


.  i 


I 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


9 


t 


Vagi, 

Platb    XXXIII.  Dinlchthys  Terrelli,  Newb 296 

XXXIV.  Oonatodug  Brainerdi,  Thomas  (8p) 298 

Oayobodus  xigmoides,  Newb 298 

XXXV.  CiBlosteus  ferox,  Newb 300 

XXXVI.  Onychodns  sigmoides,  Newb 302 

XXXVII.  OnychodiiH  sigmoideH,  Newb 304 

XXXVIII.  MaoropeUlichthysSuUivantijNewb 306 

Aspidichthys  clavatUB,  Newb 306 

XXXIX.  Edestus  minor,  Newb 308 

Edestus  Heinrichsi,  N.  &  W 308 

XL.  Edostng  gigantens,  Newb 310 

XLI.  DinichthysT  precursor, Newb 312 

XLII.  Trachosteua  Clarkii,  Newb 314 

XLIII.  Khizodus  ancepa,  Newb 316 

Diniohthys  Terrelli,  Newb 316 

Diuishtbya  minor,  Newb 316 

Titanichthya  Clarliii,  Newb 316 

XLIV.  Cladodua  Kepleri,  Newb 318 

XLV.  Cladodna  Kepleri,  Newb 320 

XLVI.  CladodnsFyleri,Newb 322 

XLVII.  Dinicbthya  intermedins,  Newb 324 

XLVIII.  Dinicbthya  Terrelli,  Newb 326 

Diniohthys  intermediua,  Newb 326 

XLIX.  Actinophorus  Clarkii,  Newb 328 

Cladodns  Fyleri,  Newb 328 

L.  Dinicbthya  Terrelli,  Newb 330 

Diniohthys  cnrtus,  Newb ,  330 

LI.  Diniohthys  intermedins,  Newb 332 

LII.  Diniohthys  intermedins,  Newb  ..., 334 

LIII.  Dinicbthya  onrtns,  Newb 3.36 

Fig.                  1.  Spines  of  Macheeracanthns  peracntus 38 

2.  Cranial  plates  of  Macropetalichihys 43 

3.  Cranial  b>nea  of  Cteuodua  Ohioensis,  Cope 227 


I 


« 


. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


CoLUMBfA  College,  New  York, 

Fchrnary  1,  1889. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  text  and  plates  of  a 
memoir  on  the  Paleozoic  Fishes  of  North  America. 

In  this  I  have  endeavored  to  give  references  to  all  notices  of  our  older 
fossil  fishes  hitherto  published,  and  have  added  to  them  descriptions  and 
figures  of  all  such  as  have  come  under  ray  observation  which  have  seemed 
to  me  to  be  new  to  science. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

Hon.  J.  W.  Powell,  "  ^-  ^^  ^^^berrv. 

Director  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

11 


I 


- 


I 


. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Although  the  geology  of  but  a  part  of  the  continent  of  North  America 
has  yet  been  carefully  studied,  local  surveys  and  general  reconnaissances 
have  made  known  all  the  principal  features  of  its  structure.     They  have 
shown  that  all  the  members  of  the  geologic  series  are  somewhere  in  its 
gi-eat  area  well  represented  and  that  the  strata  contain  fossils  which  enable 
us  to  make  satisfactory  comparisons  with  the  geology  of  other  divisions  of 
the  earth's  surface,  and  to  fix  beyond  question  the  relative  position  of  all 
miportant  groups  of  rocks.    We  have  learned,  further,  that  the  order  of  suc- 
cession m  the  strata  composing  the  geologic  column  is  the  same  here  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  and  that  the  progress  of  animal  and  plant  life 
during  the  geologic  ages  was  in  North  America  essentially  the  same  as  that 
revealed  by  explorations  in  Europe,  Asia,  Australia,  Afnca,  and  South 
Amenca. 

^  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  oldest  group  of  fossiliferous  rocks  is  the  Cam- 
brian and  It  contains  a  fauna  which,  including  representatives  of  all  the  in- 
vertebrate subkingdoms,  yet  consists  chiefly  of  trilobites.  These  are  not 
only  more  abundant  relatively  and  absolutely,  but  are  more  varied  and 
larger  than  in  the  rocks  of  later  ages.  Hence  the  Cambrian  is  not  improp- 
erly designated  the  Age  of  Trilobites. 

In  the  Ordovician  (Lower  Silurian)  all  the  invertebrate  subkingdoms 
are  well  represented,  10,000  or  12,000  species  having  been  already  col- 
lected from  these  rocks  But  the  Mollusca  are  by  far  the  most  numerous ; 
and  the  huge  cuttle-fishes,  of  which  the  chambered  shells  known  as  Ortho- 
cerata  are  sometimes  a  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter,  were  the  ruling  dynasty 


13 


14 


INTUODUCTIOJ^. 


Hence,  from  thoir  number,  size,  and  jji-owchs,  the  MoHuhcu  Iiavo  ^nvon  a 
name  to  this  age,  and  it  in  everywliero  known  as  the  Ago  of  MolluskH. 

Careful  search  in  many  countrit^a  has  failed  to  discover  anywhere  in 
the  Ordovician  rocks  any  unmistakablo  traces  of  vertebrate  life.  It  is  true 
that  the  "  conodonts,"  discovered  by  Pander  in  the  strata  tniderlyiiig  St. 
Petersburg,  were  considered  by  him  and  have  been  thought  by  others  to  be 
the  teeth  of  cartilaginous  fishes,  but  there  is  little  probability  that  they  are 
such.  I  have  discussed  this  question  elsi'where'  at  greater  length  than  I 
can  do  here,  and  have  shown  that  they  cannot  be  the  teeth  of  Klasuio- 
branchs.  Very  diverse  opinions  have  been  expressed  on  the  nature  of  these 
organs,  but  Professors  Rohon  and  Zittel  have  recently  (1886)  carefully 
reviewed  the  entire  subject,  and  have  published  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  of 
the  Bavarian  Academy  of  Sciences  then'  conclusion,  that  the  "conodonts" 
are  the  teeth  of  annelids.  Probably  no  one  now  believes  that  they  are  the 
teeth  of  fishes,  and  therefore,  as  the  evidence  stands,  fish  life  began  on  the 
earth  in  the  Silurian  (Upper  Silurian)  age.  Even  then  fishes  were  very 
feebly  represented  in  the  life  of  the  globe.  In  the  next  succeeding  age, 
however,  they  exhibited  enormous  development,  and  their  history  becomes 
more  and  more  varied,  interesting,  ar.d  dramatic  through  the  Paleozoic 
ages.  In  the  Carboniferous  and  Permian  their  rule  was  disputed  by  the 
Amphibians,  and  in  the  revolution  which  occurred  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Mesozoic  the  scepter  which  they  held  so  long  passed  lo  the  reptiles,  and 
thenceforward  they  played  a  subordinate  part  in  the  world's  history. 

The  Paleozoic  ages,  then,  formed  the  culminating  period  in  fish  life, 
when  the  whole  world  of  waters  was  theirs,  and  they  expanded  rapidly  in 
every  direction ;  early  developing  a  variety  of  structure  and  a  nice  adapta- 
tion to  their  divert^  3  surroundings,  which,  when  fully  displayed,  can  not  fail 
to  excite  surprise  and  to  be  instructive  as  well  as  interesting. 

In  the  following  pages  I  shall  endeavor  to  convey  some  idea  of  the 
progress  of  fish  life  in  North  America  during  their  golden  age,  as  illus- 
trated by  the  large  amount  of  material  which  has  come  into  my  hands. 

I  have  given  a  historical  review  of  the  subject  of  American  Pale- 
ozoic fishes  in  the  introduction  to  my  memoir  on  the  fossil  fishes  of  Ohio.^ 


■  Falieontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  1S75,  p.  41. 


» Palii-outology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  1873,  p.  245. 


INTUODUCTION. 


15 


My  views  on  tho  clnssification  of  our  older  foHsil  i\sho.  and  thoir  rela- 
tion to  hvmg  forms  are  there  given  at  such  longtl,,  tl.at  it  has  «ee».ed 
unnecessary  to  enter  on  any  general   discnssior.  of  these   snhjects  hero 
The  new  nmterial  described  on  the  following  pages  has  an  in.portant  hear-' 
ing  npon  some  of  the  questions  of  a  general  nature  relating  to  the  origin 
and  dovelopn.ent  of  Hsh  life  on  the  earth,  and  reference  will   be  found  to 
such  general  questions  in  the  descriptions  given  of  genera  «n,l  species  as 
they  occur  m  the  chronological    arrangenient  which  follows,   where  the 
hHhe.  of  the  different  geological  systems  are  treated  of  in  order,  beginnh.g 
w.tl:   the  oldest.      This  review  has  been  carried  to  the  top  of  the  Coal 
Measures  and  stops  there,  as  r>o  Permian  fishes  from  this  cour.try  have  con.e 
under  niy  observation.     I  have  already  prepared  a  monograph  on  tho  fossil 
fiBhes  of  the  American  Trias,'  so  far  as  they  are  known,  and  almost  no 
Jurassic   fishes  have  yet  been  found  in    this  country.     With   the   great 
.chthyic  revolution  which  took  place  in  the  Cretaceous  age  the  fishes  were 
brought  into  much  closer  relation  to  those  of  the  present  day,  and  those 
collec  ed  m  this  country  have  been  made  the  subject  of  elaborate  and 
iniportant  memoirs  by  Prof  E.  D.  Cope,  who  was  specially  qualified  for 
tins  work  by  his  greaU-amiliarity  with  living  fishes. 

'  Mon.  U.  8.  Oool.  Survey  No.  XIV.^  ~  ' 


r»^iiT  J. 


FISHES  OF  THE  UPPER  SILURIAN  ROCKS. 


MoN  XVI — a 


17 


stasmsammmKmaimBmumKKMH 


i 


f. 


i 


FISHES  OF  THE  UPPER  SILURIAN  ROCKS. 


It  18  known  to  all  geologists  timt  in  the  Old  World  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  fish  remains  are  reported  to  have  been  found  in  the  middle  and  up- 
per portion  of  the  Upper  Silurian  system.     It  is  true  that  the  ichthyic  char- 
acter of  the  peculiar  organisms  liere   referred  to,  those  named  IHcraspis 
and  Scapluispis  by  Huxley  and  Lankester,  has  been  doubted  by  many  and 
denied  by  some,  but  the  authors  mentioned  are  positive  in  their  statements, 
and  there  are  none  among  comparative  anatomists  whose  dicta  deserve 
more  respect  than  theirs.     We  do  not   yet  know  whether  rteraspis  and 
Scaphaspis  had  under  jaws,  but  if  they  should  prove  to  have  been  destitute  of 
these  organs,  they  would  be  excluded  from  the  class  of  fishes  by  some  mod- 
ern zoologists.     We  know,  however,  that  they  were  aquatic  in  habit,  fusi- 
form in  shape,  and   for  locomotive  organs  were  provided  with  fins,  and 
that,  as  in  most  of  the  best  known  fishes  of  the  present  and  Paleozoic  fiuinas, 
the  body  was  protected  by  either  plates  or  scale*.     Without  going  further 
into  this  mooted  question,  and  leaving  to  time  their  assignment  to  their  true 
places  in  the  animal  series,  we  may  at  least  say  that  the  assemblage  of  char- 
acters which  these  fossils  present  is  such  as  to  permit  us  to  compare  them 
only  with  fishes,  and  should  they  be  excluded  from  this  class,  there  is  no 
other  yet  defined  into  which  they  could  be  received.     Hence,  for  the  time 
being  at  least,  it  is  manifestly  wiser  to  consider  them  as  fishes. 

Accepting,  then,  the  verdict  of  Huxley  and  Lankester,  we  may  say 
that  fishes  have  been  found  in  the  Upper  Silurian  in  the  Old  World.  Un- 
til recently  it  could  have  been  said  with  truth  that  they  had  not  been  found 
in  America.  This,  however,  can  no  longer  be  asserted ;  for  Prof.  E.  W. 
Claypole  has  obtained  from  the  middle  of  the  Upper  Silurian  series  in 


19 


m 


20 


taleozok;  fishes  of  north  ameuica. 


Pennsylvania  the  remains  of  organisms  similar  to  those  that  had  been  be- 
fore discovered  in  tiie  Ludlow  rocks  of  England.  Ho  [jublished'  a  paper  on 
the  discovery  of  I'teraspidian  fishes  in  the  Upper  Silurian  rocks  of  North 
America,  and  in  it  he  describes  two  species  of  Palccasjns — P.  Americana  and 
I\  hitnmcata — "vhich  he  states  had  been  obtained  from  the  Bloomfield  sand- 
stone, the  upper  member  of  the  Onondaga  salt  group.  This  would  make 
them  somewhat  older  than  any  similar  fossils  found  in  the  Old  World. 

In  addition  to  these  bucklered  fishes.  Professor  Claypole  describes  in  the 
same  \nipev  two  minute  spines  which  ho  considers  those  of  Elasmobranchs. 
One  of  these  was  obtained  from  the  Bloomfield  sandstone;  the  other  from  a 
still  lower  horizon,  the  Clinton  group.  These  spines  are  very  small,  not 
more  than  half  an  inch  in  length,  and  broken  at  both  ends ;  they  cannot, 
therefore,  be  made  the  basis  of  any  positive  statement  or  wide  generaliza- 
tio'i.  It  is  perhaps  not  certain  that  they  are  not  the  spines  of  crustaceans, 
such  as  were  obtained  by  tiie  geologists  of  New  York  from  the  Clinton 
group  in  that  State  and  named  Onchiis  Dcweyi,  and  at  one  time  supposed  to 
be  the  defensive  organs  of  fishes.  I  am,  however,  disposed  to  coincide  with 
the  view  of  Professor  Claypole,  although  the  ichthyic  character  of  these 
little  objects  cannot  be  asserted  until  proven  by  more  complete  specimens. 
The  question  may  be  definitely  settled,  however,  by  the  discovery  of  one 
8v>ine  which  shows  the  proximal  extremity.  If  this  should  prove  to  be  solid 
and  more  or  less  roughly  pointed,  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  these  are  the 
dorsal  spines  of  fishes ;  but  if  irregularly  expanded,  forming  a  rim  about  a 
central  cavity,  then  we  must  conclude  they  were  the  appendages  of  crusta- 
ceans. The  so-called  Onchus  Dcivci/i  from  New  York  has  been  shown  to 
have  belonged  to  a  crustacean,  and  yet  a.  fragment  of  the  upper  end  of  one 
of  these  objects  would  be  naturally  taken  as  a  portion  of  a  fish  spine. 

Special  interest  attaches  to  these  earliest  traces  of  fishes,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  those  who  may  have  opportunity  for  continuing  Professor  Clay- 
pole's  researches  will  not  fail  to  improve  it,  and  if  possible  add  to  the  small 
but  most  important  group  of  reUcs  he  has  described. 

'  Qiiarl.  Jour.  Geol.  Soc.  London,  luan,  vol.  il,  p.  48. 


P^RT   II. 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


MMH 


I 


l! 


FISHES  OP  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


The  Devonian  system  is  perhaps  better  represented  in  eastern  North 

a,t  of  the  splenchd  Paleo.oie  section  exposed  between  the  Adirondack^  and 

tlllZ  "'  ""■"''  "'*  ""'  "  """'  ^^^^  ^^  *^-  N«-  York 

The  Devonian  rocks  here  form  three  great  natural  gronps,  as  follows: 

Portage  shales.    ] 
Geiicseo  shale.      '  ,, 
TuIIy  limestone.  /""'"""'""•'• 
1.  Hamilton  groiip .....;  Moscow  shale,     j 

Kucrinal  limestone. 
Bine  shale. 
^Mnrcollns  shale. 

2.  CorniroroQg  group..  )  Comiferons  limestone. 

i  Onondaga  limestone. 
I  Schoharie  grit. 

3.  OrislcKny  group  ....)  Caud.agalli  grit. 

(  Oridkany  sandstone. 

By  some  geologists  the  Oriskany  sandstone  is  made  the  summit  of  the 
Upper  Silurian  system,  but  it  was  included  in  the  Devonian  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  New  York  survey  and  by  Lyell  and  Verneuil,  who  personally 
examined  the  New  York  section,  and  it  certainly  forms  the  natural  S.se  of 
tl.at  system.     Tl:e  Oriskany  group  is  a  mass  of  mechanical  sediment,  which 
rnarks     period  of  physical  change,  and  in  places  is  plainly  unconformable 
with  the  Upper  Silurian  strata.     In  New  York  the  fossils  of  the  Oriskany 
aie  different  from  those  of  the  Silurian  below  and  the  Corniferous  above^ 
but  at  De  Cewville,  Canada,  the  most  characteristic  Oriskany  fossils,  such 
as  Sinnfer  arenosus,  Streptorhynchus  lupparionyx,  Renssela^ria  ovoides,  etc ,  are 
found  mingled  with  Corniferous  species  and  binding  the  two  groups  together. 
The  Devonian  age  has  been  called  the  age  of  fishes,  because  all  over 
the  world  the  rocks  of  this  system  contain  the  remains  of  fishes  as  their 


■n 


affliiua! 


24 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOKTH  AMEKIUA. 


largest  and  most  characteristic  fossils.  These  were  Placoderms,  scaled  Ga- 
noids, and  Elasmobranchs,  the  first  preponderating  in  number  and  size,  and 
included  some  of  the  most  highly  specialized,  largest,  and  most  formidable  of 
all  fishes  ;  for  example,  Dimchtliys,  a  gigantic  Coccosteus,  was  perhaps  fifteen 
feet  in  length,  encased  in  armor,  and  provided  with  formidable  jaws,  which 
would  have  severed  the  body  of  a  man  as  easily  as  he  bites  off  a  radish. 
The  scaled  Ganoids  included  both  the  rhombiferous  and  cycliferous  varie- 
ties, and  varied  in  size  from  the  chub-like  Pal(coniscus  to  the  cycliferous 
Crossopterygian  Oni/chodus,  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length.  The  Elasmobranchs 
vere  represented  by  Sharks  and  Chima'ras,  but  these  were  far  less  numer- 
ous than  in  the  succeeding  age. 

The  bone  beds  of  the  Corniferous  limestone,  in  which  the  remains  of 
millions  of  marine  fishes  of  middle  Devonian  age  are  strewed  over  the  old 
sea  bottom,  contain  numerous  stud-like,  often  highly  ornamented,  dermal 
tubercles,  and  occasionally  fragments  of  the  pectoral  spines  of  Machceracan- 
thus,  but  almost  no  teeth  of  cartilaginous  fishes.  Many  teeth  of  Onychodus 
are  there,  often  broken  and  sometimes  worn,  as  though  having  suffered  trit- 
uration; but  the  limestone  ir.  which  they  lie  was  deposited  in  comparatively 
deep  and  still  water,  and  they  could  only  have  been  broken  and  worn  by 
violence  or  the  digestive  energy  of  the  fishes  which  swallowed  them.  These 
bone  beds  contrast  strongly  with  those  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone,  where 
the  fish  remains  are  nearly  all  of  Sharks,  and  show  that  somehow  during  the 
interval  between  the  central  epoclis  of  these  two  ages  the  fish  life  of  the  sea 
was  comjjletely  revolutionized,  the  powerful  Placoderms  having  yielded 
the  scepter  to  the  Sharks,  for  which  the  Carboniferous  was  the  golden  age. 

In  the  Upjier  Devonian  (Hamilton .  period),  when  the  sea  from  which 
the  Corniferous  limestone  was  deposited  had  become  shallowed  and  its  sedi- 
ments were  more  carbonaceous  and  earthy.  Sharks  were  apparently  more 
num-eroiis  than  before,  as  we  find  the  dorsal  spines  of  several  species  of 
Ctcmcantlms  and  tho  teeth  of  '  ^ladodus,  which  doubtless  belonged  with  them, 
and  yet  the  Placoderms  are  also  numerous  and  large.  Onychodus  survives 
from  the  Corniferous  period,  but  in  a  new  and  peculiarly  modified  species 
(0.  Ortoni  N.),  in  which  the  large  median  teethof  the  lower  jaw  were  planted 
in  the  arch  of  bone  which  bore  them  instead  of  being  set  astride  of  it.    Little 


I 


: 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


25 


tile-scaled  Ganoids,  allied  to  Palceoniscus,  were  there,  and  served  as  food  for 
the  larger  ones,  as  we  learn  from  their  scales  and  bones  in  coproHtes,  but  no 
entire  individuals  have  yet  been  found. 

In  Canada  a  most  interesting-  fish  fauna  has  been  discovered  in  the 
Upper  Devonian  rocks,  and  many  genera  and  species  have  been  described 
by  Mr.  Whiteaves,  the  pahuontologist  of  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey. 
These  fi.shes  are  generally  small,  are  closely  allied  to,  and  in  some  instances 
perliaps  identical  with,  the  fishes  of  the  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  Scot- 
land, and,  liice  them,  were  apparently  the  inhabitants  of  fresh  water. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  FISHES. 

The  derivation  of  this  fish  fauna  is  unknown  to  us.  Tlie  Devonian 
Cephalaspidians,  Ccphalasim,  Acanthasins  and  Acantholejm,  have  affinities 
with  Ptemspis  and  Smphaspis  of  the  Upper  Silurian  and  are  perhaps  their 
descendants,  but  the  origin  of  the  most  striking  and  characteristic  elements 
in  tliis  fauna — the  gigantic  Dinkhthuhc  and  the  scaled  and  plated  Ganoids, 
Onijchodiis,  MacropctaUdithijs,  and  Asterosteus,  as  also  the  great  Pterichthid 
Aspidichthys,  and  the  Ehismobranchs  Rhynchodus  and  Maclmr acanthus, 
among  the  largest  and  most  highly  specialized  of  all  fishes — will  perhaps 
always  remain  a  mystery.  Most  of  these  were  inhabitants  of  the  Corniferous 
sea,  and  came  in  from  the  great  oceanic  basins  with  the  flood  which  at  a 
certain  time  inundated  parts  of  the  North  American  continent  and  deposited 
upon  them  the  sediments  which  v/e  call  the  Lower  and  Middle  Devonian 
rocks.  Presenting,  as  these  fishes  do,  extreme  forms  of  development  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  they  must  have  had  a  long  term  of  existence  previous  to 
their  appearance  in  the  Devonian  sea,  but  up  to  the  present  time  we  have 
discovered  no  evidences  of  their  derivation  from  other  inveriebrate  or  verte- 
bratf;  organisms,  and  no  traces  of  the  training  schools  in  which  they  were 
bro':;ght  to  such  diversified  perfection  according  to  their  different  plans  of 
structure. 

STRATIGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  DEVONIAN  FISHES. 

Neither  in  New  York  nor  farther  south  has  the  Oriskany  sandstone  yet 
furnished  any  remains  of  fishes,  but  it  is  to  be  expected  that  when  sought 
for  patiently  and  discriminatingly  they  will  be  discovered.     In  Canada, 


lit 


26 


PALEOZOIC  FISnES  OP  NORTQ  AMERIOA. 


I^i 


north  of  Lake  Bii-ie,  where  the  characteristic  fossils  of  the  New  York  Oris- 
kany  are  associated  with  those  of  the  Corniferous  limestone,  spines  of 
Machcracanthm  and  fragments  of  plates  with  a  stellate  tuberculation,  pro- 
bably of  Macropetnliclithifs,  have  been  found. 

The  Candagalli  grit  occurs  only  over  a  limited  area  in  eastern  New 
York,  and  is  a  local  exhibition  of  the  passage  from  the  coarser  Oriskany 
sandstone  to  the  calcareous  beds  above.  So  far  it  has  yielded  only  one 
fossil,  the  sea-weed  Sjnrop/iijfon,  but  it  is  almost  certain  that  careful  search 
in  it  will  bring  to  light  other  things. 

The  Schoharie  grit  is  only  a  local  siliceous  phase  of  the  basal  portion 
of  the  Corniferous  limestone,  deposited  in  some  off-shore  locality  where 
sometimes  half  the  mass  was  land-wash.  Its  fossils  are  essentially  the  same 
as  those  of  th.  Corniferous  limestone,  and  the  remains  of  fishes  are  not 
unfrequently  found  in  it.  Among  these  I  have  seen  some  fragments  that 
belonged  to  species  which  are  certainly  new,  but  they  hardly  suffice  for  sat- 
isfactory description.  The  remains  of  two  yet  undescribed  fishes  have 
been  recently  sent  to  me  from  Schoharie,  N.  Y.,  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Gebhard ; 
one  a  Placoderm,  with  tubercidated  Plates ;  of  the  other  I  have  only  a  por- 
tion of  a  bone,  apparently  belonging  to  the  shoulder  girdle,  and  of  which 
the  exposed  surface  is  closely  set  with  large,  rounded,  smooth  tubercles, 
resembling  those  of  Aspidichthys  and  it  may  possibly  have  belonged  to  a 
fish  of  that  genus. 


SECTION   A. — PISHES   OF   THE    CORNIFEROUS   LIMESTONE. 

The  Corniferous  limestone  was  the  open-sea  deposit  of  the  Devonian 
age ;  having  several  lines  of  outcrop  extending  from  Canada  to  Tennessee 
and  being  quarried  in  many  localities  for  lime  and  building  stone,  its  fossils 
are  as  well  known  as  those  of  any  other  element  in  the  geologic  column. 
In  the  State  of  New  York  the  Corniferous  limestone,  including  the  Onon- 
daga, is  perhaps  sixty  feet  in  tliickness.  It  contains  there  considerable 
bituminous  and  some  earthy  matter,  but  is  mainly  carbonate  of  lime.  In 
Ohio  it  is  thicker,  and  contains  much  more  magnesia.  About  the  line  of  the 
Cumberland  River  in  Kentucky  it  runs  out,  showing  that  the  basin  in 
which  it  was  deposited  did  not  extend  farther  to  the  southeast,  but  it  com- 


FiariES  OF  TIJE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


27 


'     f 


muiiiciited  freely  with  the  ocean  towiird  the  southwest,  though  it  was  nearly 
inclosed  by  land,  viz,  a  line  of  islands  along  the  Cincinnati  arch  and  the 
Canadian  and  Alleghany  highlands. 

The  remains  of  fishes  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  early  attracted 
attention.  Mr.  Joseph  SuUivant,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  was  probably  the  first 
to  notice  and  collect  them,  but  he  did  not  attempt  to  describe  them.  As 
early  as  1836  he  presented  a  cranium,  which  ho  obtained  in  his  (juarries  at 
Columbus,  to  Marietta  College,  Ohio,  and  I  subsequently  made  this  tho 
type  of  Macropetalichthi/s  SuUivanti  as  a  recognition  of  the  value  of  his 
contributions  to  geology. 

In  1840  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen  and  Dr.  J.  G.  Norwood  published*  a  description 
of  a  new  fossil  fish  from  the  Paleozoic  rocks  of  Indiana.  This  fossil  was 
very  badly  preserved  and  has  since  been  lost,  but  there  is  no  doubt  it 
was  generically  identical  with  one  of  the  best  known  of  our  Corniferous 
fishes,  and  therefore  that  the  name  Macropetalichthys  then  given  must 
stand. 

Somewhat  later  Dr.  R.  P.  Mann,  of  Milford,  Ohio,  became  much  inter- 
ested in  the  remains  of  fisiies  in  tho  Corniferous  limestone,  and  made  a  fine 
collection  of  them,  which  he  presented  to  the  VVesleyan  University,  at  Del- 
aware, Ohio.  Quite  a  number  of  these,  with  others,  sent  to  me  by  Prof.  F. 
Merrick,  of  Delaware,  and  Dr.  E.  S.  Lane,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  were  de- 
scribed in  a  paper  read  before  the  National  Institute,  Washington,  January 
26,  1857. 

In  1855  Prof  William  Hopkins  figured  and  described,^  l)ut  did  not  name, 
a  spine  from  the  Corniferous  limestone  of  New  York.  This  fossil  was  sub- 
sequently taken  as  the  type  of  the  genus  MachcurncantJms,  and  was  shown 
to  be  the  pectoral  spine  of  a  shark. 

The  fossil  fishes  of  the  Corniferous  limestone  have  been  further  de- 
iScribed  by  the  writer  iu  the  following  papers :  Annals  of  Science,  vol.  1 
(1853) ;  Proc.  Amer.  Assoc,  1853,  p.  166  ;  Bull.  National  Inst,  1857,  p.  19  ; 
Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  vol.  34,  1862,  p.  73 ;  Pal.  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  247;  vol.  2,  p.  1. 

'  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  2d  series,  vol.  1,  1846,  p.  367. 

»Proo.  Am.  Assoc.  Adv.  Soi.,  8th  (Washington)  meeting  (1855),  p.  287. 


28 


PALEOZOIC!  FISHES  OF  NOKTli  AMERICA. 


Ill  tlio  piipor  roiul  butoro  tlio  National  ItiHtitute  in  1857  on  tlio  FoHsil 
FiHlit'H  of  tho  Devonian  liocks  of  Oliio  tho  foUowinj?  species  were  described ; 


DEVONIAN  FISHES. 


MacropelalichlhiiH  Mamil,  Nowb. 
MiiiriijulaliihlhiiH  Sitlliriinii,  Nowli, 
OnfiihiidiiH  Ili>t>kiimi,  Ntnvli. 
IhifiiliniliiH  Miiimoiilen,  Niiwb. 
I'linmmiitliiii  aHliquHii,  N'invli. 
MiichirrncaiithiiH  majHi;  N«wb. 


Muehiiracanthiiii  iieraouliit,  Nowb, 
Miichivracantkiin  HiilcalH»,  Nowb. 
i tracanthttH  fniniliii,  Nowb. 
Uracanlliim  griinulntui,  Nowb. 
OracanthUK  miiltiieria.'un,  Nowb. 
Uracantkun  nftfcirrfndM.  Nowb. 


Of  these,  Mnnnpctaliclttlii/s  Mmiui  is  perhaps  only  the  young  or  a  sexual 
variety  of  M.  SuUivaiiti.  Onychodus  llopk'msii  is  erroneously  included  in  the 
list,  as  it  i.s  confined  to  the  Chemung  rocks,  and  will  be  noticed  further  on. 
Of  the  species  of  Oiacantlius  enumerated,  perhaps  none  belong  to  the  same 
genus  with  its  type,  Oracnnthus  Millvri  of  Agassiz,  but  they  are  more  likely 
to  prove  to  bo  some  of  the  singularly  varied  spine-plates  of  Acanthokpis. 

Combining  all  the  notices  of  the  fossil  fishes  of  the  Corniferous  lime- 
stone published  up  to  the  present  time,  we  have  the  following  lists  of  species: 


ELASUOHRANCHS. 


Macha-racanthni  major,  Nowb. 
AfarliiiracdtilhiiH  tiilcnliin.  Nowb. 
Mi<vli(iraraiilliiin  iiiiiiriiliiH,  Nowb. 
Itlii/iichndiiKfrangrni,  Nowb. 
Ithyniliodiin  (t«ci.»«,  Newli. 
Ithjinchodiii  irrasuvR,  Nowb. 


GANOIDS. 


Mni'rnpe.inlivhihyii  SnUiranti,  Nowb. 
.MiKTDiirtiiUihlhiiH  Minini,  Nowb. 
MiwropeluVifUlhjiH  vaphMohbii,  N.  &  O. 
On jiclwiliiH  Hti/mo'ilex,  Nowb. 
Aiterotteiis  steitocephalui,  Nowb. 


OrarantAiM  {1)/ragUii,  Newb. 
Oracanthni  (f)  abhrrriaiiiH,  Nowb. 
OravanthuH  (f)  yrannlatim,  Newb. 
I'mimmmlua  nntiquuH,  Nowb. 
Cj/rlucttHthiu  dentatut,  Newb. 


Acanlhaapii  nrmatiii,  Newb. 
Arantholepii  pimtiilogHS,  Nowb. 
lAoynalhuH  upalulatuit,  Nowb. 
Coccotteut  ocoidenlalii,  Nowb, 


Of  the  species  mentioned  in  the  above  list  those  of  the  genus  Machctra- 
canthus  are  the  pectoral  spines  of  Sharks,  of  which  we  have  no  other  known 
remains.  They  are  not  uncommon  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  of  Can.adji,. 
New  York,  and  Ohio.  The  largest  are  sometimes  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length, 
are  composed  of  extremely  dense  tissxie  covered  with  polished  enamel,  and 
are  sharp  at  the  point  and  on  the  edges ;  the  surface  slopes  from  a  central 
ridge. to  the  margin  on  either  side,  and  this  slope  is  concave  like  those  of  a 
bayonet,  apparently  for  the  same  reason,  viz,  to  gain  the  greatest  strength 


PI8UB8  OF  Tllli  DEVONIAN  AUK. 


Stf 


with  the  least  material.     It  is  an  important  fact  that  Hpines  l)olon<,'in;^  to 
the  fTonus  Machivraamthus  and  poH«il)ly  to  tho  Hpecit's  M.  mtijar  liii\o  boon 
tbuucl  in  tho  Devonian  linuwtont's  of  Bohemia  and  in  tlie  Hurt/,  .Mountains, 
and  are  described  by  IJarrande'  nnder  tho  name  of  Ctcnmaiithiis  Itolicininis. 
The  teeth  to  which  I  have  {jiven  tho  name  of  lUnjHrhodns  constitute  a 
remarkable  and  interesting  element  in  tho  (ish  fauna  of  the  Cornifcrous  linui- 
stone.     There  can  bo  no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  bolon«»'ed  to  (Jjiima-roids, 
and  as  thoy  are  numerous  and  exhibit  considerable  diversity  of  structure, 
they  show  that  this  group  of  fishes,  now  almost  extinct,  had  its  gcddcn  aj-c! 
far  back  in  geological  time.     In  some  cases  four  teeth  with  pointed  and 
upturned  extremities  formed  a  beak  not  unlike   that  of  turtles  and  some 
birds;  a  structure  that  suggested  the  name  given  to  the  gemis.     In  the 
largest  species,  It.  franfjtns,  which  was  much  like  n.id  nearly  as  large  as 
Chimcmi  Townsendii,  from  the  Jurassic,  the  upper  edge  formed  a  broad  trit- 
urating surface.     In  another  species,  R.  sccmm,  the  edges  were  sharp,  and 
played  on  each  other  precisely  as  did  the  dental  plates  of  iJiiiichthi/s  Tcnelli 
In  one  specimen  which   I  luivo  four  are  lying  together  approximately  in 
their  original  positions.     I  have  sometiujos  called  these  beak-teeth  mandibu- 
lar, from  their  resemblance  to  the  mandibles  of  birds,  though  aware  that  only 
half  of  them  belonged  to  the  lower  jaw. 

Psammodus  antiquus  is  notable,  because,  so  far  as  known,  it  is  the 
pioneer  of  the  great  group  of  pavement-toothed  sharks  of  the  Carboniferous 
age. 

The  very  peculiar  spine,  which  I  have  called  Cyrtacanthus,  will  proba- 
bly be  found  to  be  only  one  branch  of  a  fork,  and  perhaps  not  generically 
distinct  from  Agassiz's  Cladacanthus ;  but  if  so,  it  will  be  the  first  Devonian 
species  known,  all  others  being  of  Carboniferous  age. 

FISH  BEL  3  OF  THE  COKNIFEBOUS  LIMESTONE. 

In  the  report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio  I  have  referred  to  two 
genuine  fish  beds  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Al- 
though they  have  furnished  no  complete  fishes  and  few  entire  plates  or  teeth, 
they  are  of  special  importance,  as  they  give  us  a  better  view  of  the  fish  life 

•  Dr.  E.  Kayser,  Dio  Fauna  dor  UUosteu  Devon-Ablugorungeu  des  Harzes,  Abhandl.  Gool.  Snocial- 
kai  to  preuBB.,  etc.,  1878,  vol.  2,  Heft  4,  p.  3 ;  Atlas,  pi.  35,  Bg.  12. 


30 


I'ALKOZOIO  FI8III0H  OK  NOUTII   AMKRICA. 


of  tlio  iJovonian  sou  tliiui  wo  iiro  able  to  get  from  iBolatod  Hpocimens  how- 
ever perfect ;  they  therefore  deHorvo  a  few  wordH  of  (hmcriptioii. 

The  first  of  these  bono  beds  was  discovered  by  Mr.  .F.  II.  Klippiirt,  in 
tho  upper  part  of  the  Corniferous  limestone,  a  few  miles  north  of  (!oliimbu», 
Ohio.  The  stratum  in  rpiestion  is  only  'rom  two  to  four  iiuihes  in  thickness, 
but  it  extends  over  an  area  of  many  scinare  miles.  It  is  nhnost  entirely 
composed  of  fra{,nnents  of  plates,  teeth,  s|)ine8,  and  derntal  tuljoreles  of 
Ganoids,  Placoderms,  and  Elasmobranch  fishes.  Unfortunately  most  of  them 
are  so  much  broken  and  worn,  that  they  are  difficult  and  disappointing  objects 
of  study;  but  the  deposit  is  one  of  peculiar  interest  from  its  niode  of  forma- 
tion and  from  the  comprehensivo  \  I'iw  it  gives  of  the  Devonian  fish  fauna. 

I  lore  we  have  the  assemblage  of  millions  on  millions  of  generally  im- 
perfect but  niostly  recognizable  organs  or  fragments  of  the  bony  struct  u'O 
of  the  forms  of  fish  life  most  characteristic  of  the  Dovcniian  age.  There  are 
many  entire  teeth  ami  dermal  tubercles,  but  these  are  always  detached  and 
scattered.  Most  of  the  fragments  are  worn  and  rounded,  and  have  evidently 
been  subjected  to  some  sort  of  triturating  agency.  They  have  the  aspect 
of  having  been  beach-worn,  but  the  mass  is  almost  entirely  organic,  and  it 
is  diflicult  to  understand  how  it  could  have  accumulated  alon  '  a  shore  line 
without  some  intermingling  of  sand  or  pebbles.  It  forms  a  tiiin  layer  in  a 
thick  sheet  of  organic  sediment,  wiiich  must  have  been  depos  ted  in  conj- 
paratively  deep  water,  for  no  land  wash  of  any  kind  is  associated  with  it. 
It  has  seemed  to  me  not  impossible  that  this  fish  bed  was  for  the  most  part 
made  up  of  excrementitious  matter,  and  that  it  represents  the  hard  and  indi- 
gestible parts  of  fishes  which  have  served  as  food  for  other  and  larger  kinds. 
On  this  supposition  the  fragmentary  and  wo:  i,^  ajipearanco  of  tho  bones 
would  bo  attributable  to  tho  crushing,  ni""' niion,  and  partial  digestion 
which  they  have  suffered.  If  this  is  the  true  .istory  of  the  deposit,  it  accu- 
nudated  in  some  nook  or  bay,  perhaps  bordering  a  coral  reef,  where  large 
and  small  fishes  congregated  age  after  age  until  their  "  kjokkenmoddings" 
formed  a  sheet  some  inches  in  thickness  over  all  the  sea  bottom.  By  what- 
ever process  accumulated,  this  mass  of  fish  remains  constitutes  a  most 
remarkable  deposit,  and  one  not  less  interestmg  as  a  geological  formation 
than  because  of  the  many  forms  of  ancient  life  it  contains. 


f 

SI 


I  - 


FISHES  OP  THE  DEVONIAN  AOR 


31 


A  fiHli-lxMl  not  unlikit  thin  occiirH  in  tlio  Oornifi  roiiH  liincHtoiio  iit  North 
Voriion,  Iiul.  Tlio  two  depoHits  correHpond  rlo.iely  in  fro«»lofrinil  position 
and  clmracter,  and  miiny  of  tho  fosHiU  are  the  minio  in  both,  so  tliut  wo 
must  con<dudo  tlioy  liiive  had  a  simihir  history.  Anionj,'  tho  fossils  of  tho 
Cohnn))ns  fisli  \h'a\  thcro  aro  thousands  of  tho  toetli  of  (hiifcliodii.s,  with  fnig- 
nionts  of  tho  iioad  phitos  of  this  gonns  and  of  Marropctdlirhlhi/s ,-  tho  hittor 
rccogni/.ubli)  hy  tiioir  pocuhar  tuherculation.  Tlic  spines  of  Mnchiiranintlms 
and  AcmiHtdxwH  also  occur  thoro,  but  by  far  the  most  niunorous  of  tho  i'os- 
silrt  contaitHid  in  the  deposit  aro  tho  studdiko  donnal  ossicles  of  Selachians 
Of  those  most  are  plain,  but  some  have  tho  exposed  surfaces  ornanionted 
with  radiating  ridges,  like  u  scallop  shell,  and  (ilosely  resemble  those  de- 
scribud  by  (1 II.  Pander '  under  tho  name  of  Cwlult'pis  and  Nofilolcpi.s.  Asso- 
ciated with  tl lose  are  mnnorous  Kl!ismol)ranrh  teeth,  generally  of  small  size 
and  showing  considerable  diversity  of  form,  but  most  of  thorn  would  prob- 
ably come  into  the  genus  Cliomntmlus  of  Agassiz. 

The  abundance  of  the  remains  of  Elasmobranch  fishes  in  this  deposit 
is  surprising,  considering  their  general  scaniity  in  tho  C!orniferous  limestone, 
and  indeed  in  al'  tho  Devonian  rocks  It  should  be  said,  however,  that  even 
hero  tho  relics  of  Sharks  are,  with  the  exception  of  the  8])ines  of  Machnm- 
mntUusy  all  small,  and  we  find  nothing  which  requires  important  ijualilica- 
tion  of  tho  view  advanced  in  tho  I'aheontology  of  Ohio,  viz,  that  "in  the 
Devonian  seas  the  Elasmobranchs  wore  comparatively  few  and  small,  and 
thoy  were  far  surpasscul  in  numbers  and  in  size  by  tho  scaled  and  plated 
Ganoids,  which  constituted  tho  sununit  of  the  zoologic  series  and  the  ruling 
dynasty  at  that  age  of  tho  world." 

The  fish-beds  described  above  deserve  more  careful  consideration  vlian 
they  have  yet  received,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  seme  one  who  is  favora- 
bly located  will  make  them  the  objects  of  careful  and  prolonged  study. 
In  no  other  way  can  tho  immense  mass  of  animal  remains  thoy  inc'ude  bo 
properly  investigated,  and  it  is  quite  (lertain  that  the  results  would  justify 
the  devotion  of  considerable  time  to  the  task.  Both  the  deposits  aro  verita- 
ble cemeteries ;  they  extend  over  considerable  areas  and  are  very  accessi- 
ble.    Probably  all  the  fishes  that  lived  in  tho  waters  from  which  the  Cor- 

>  Mouogruphio  der  fogs.  FiBcbe  des  siluriscluMi  SyHtenm,  p.  65,  PI.  4,  Fig.  13. 


lUlffiliiliiifi" 


MH 


i 

1 


32 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


niferoiis  limedtone  was  deposited  have  left  here  some  traces  of  their  exist- 
ence, and  with  proper  study  a  cataloj^ue,  which  sliould  liave  a  reasonable 
degree  of  completeness,  could  be  made  out  of  the  fish  fauna  of  the  basin 
that  in  the  Devonian  age  occupied  the  area  between  the  Cincinnati  arch, 
the  Alleghany  belt,  and  the  Canadian  highlands.  Isolated  specimens  found 
elsewliere  would  supply  anatomical  details  and  serve  for  the  reconstruction 
of  entire  indiviiluals  and  thus  of  genera  and  species,  but  nowhere  else,  so 
far  as  my  knowl  Ige  extends,  can  we  get  such  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
ichthyic  fauna  of  the  age. 


I 


FISHE3  OF  TUE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


33 


Order  PLACODERMI. 

Family  CEPHALASPIDiE. 

Genus  AOANTHOLEPIS,  Newb. 

Among  the  fisli  remains  found  in  the  Corniferous  h'mestone  are  many 
tuberculated  cranial  or  dermal  plates  which  have  a  prevailing  spatulate 
ortline,  but  differing   much  among  themselves  in   form  and  consistence 
Some  are  thin,  and  have  the  appearance  of  large,  unsynunetrical  scales ; 
others  are  thicker,  and  are  produced  into  points  that  sometimes  become 
spines.     The  outer  surftice  of  all  these  plates  is  more  or  less  tuberculated ; 
the  tubercles  in  some  of  them  being  strong  and  closely  crowded,  in  others 
sparse  and  fine.     Whether  these  are  body  scutes  or  canial  plates  remains 
to  be  shown  by  future  discoveries.     That  they  form  part  of  a  somewhat  ex- 
tended series  which  compose  a  more  or  less  complete  coat  of  armor  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  some  instances  two  or  more  are  found  in  close  contact 
and  occupying  their  true  positions  as  regards  each  other.     The  fishes  that 
bore  these  defenses  were  evidently  of  large  size,  as  the  scutes  which  formed 
their  tessellated  armor  are  sometimes  eight  or  ten  inches  in  len-th  by  two 
inches  in  width.     Other  plates  are  smaller,  elliptical,  spatulate,  or  triangular 
m  outline,  and  several  forms  have  angles  which  are  produced  into  spines 

Until  more  material  shall  be  obtained  which  may  serve  for  the  recon- 
struction of  this  remarkable  fish  it  would  be  premature  to  make  anv  posi- 
tive assertion  in  regard  to  its  zoological  relations.  I  may  say,  however,  that 
judg.ng  from  the  specimens  before  mo,  Acanthokpls  wii^  a  Placoderm,  liavino- 
Acanthasim  as  its  nearest  ally  in  the  Corniferous  sea ;  both  presenting  char" 
i.cters  which  indicate  an  intimate  rel.-itionship  with  Ccphalaspis. 

In  a  paper  published  some  years  since  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  National 
Institute  at  Washington,  I  described  a  number  of  fish  remains  obtained  at 
Delaware,  Ohio,  by  the  late  Dr.  Mann.  Among  these  three  .pecies  of  Ora- 
c«n^/i^«.werede8cril,ed,  viz,  O.fragUis,  0.  <,rauuJatus,  and  0.  ahhrevintus,  all  of 
which  I  now  believe  to  be  pliases  of  the  varied  scutes  of  Acanthokpis.    Some 

MON  XVX .,'{  ^ 


wmBm 


34 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


of  the  triangular  ones  seem  to  have  resembled  in  form  and  functions  the 
dermal  spines  of  Climatius,  Parexus,  etc.,  and  it  is  possible  that  they  were 
set  in  greater  or  less  number  on  the  body.  Some  are  quite  spine-like  in 
character,  narrow,  compressed  and  acute,  but  toward  the  bases  of  the  cones 
they  form  the  walls  are  crushed  together,  and  it  is  evident  that  they  were 
thin,  bony,  and  enameled  shells  attached  to  the  surface  of  the  body  or 
head,  where  composed  of  soft  tissues,  and  were  not  planted  in  the  integu- 
mevts  like  the  spines  of  Elasmobranchs.  There  is  pi-obably  much  hetero- 
geneous material  included  in  the  genus  Oracanthus,  for  some  of  the  spines 
assigned  to  it  are  solid,  symmetrical,  roughened,  and-  pointed  at  the  base, 
and  are  plainly  the  dorsal  spines  of  Sharks ;  others  are  unsymmetrical, 
the  sides  being  of  unequal  breadth,  and  these,  I  suspect,  were  the  jjectoral 
spines  of  Elasmobranch  fishes. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Davis,  in  his  work  on  the  fishes  of  the  Mountain  limestone, 
recognizes  their  paired  character,  but  locates  them  back  on  the  body.  Dr. 
Traquair  suggests  that  a  spine  of  this  kind,  which  he  has  called  Oracanthus 
armifferus,  was  the  defense  of  the  angle  of  the  head.  This  seems  highly 
probable,  and  it  may  be  true  of  the  triangular  spines  of  Acantholejns  as 
well  as  of  the  spines  called  by  St.  John  and  Worthen  Pnigeacanthus. 

ACANTUOLEPIS    PUSTULOSUS. 


I. 

I 


Plate  XXXI,  Figs.  5,  5%  5*. 

Ci'anial  or  body  scutes  hr.ving  a  somewhat  spatulate  form,  and  attain- 
ing in  some  cases  a  length  of  seven  or  eight  inclies  and  a  breadth  of  two 
inches.  These  scutes  were  set  contiguous  to  each  othe^ ,  forming  a  defense 
to  the  body  or  head ;  the  more  elongated  ones  becoming  curved  spines, 
similar  in  general  character  to  those  of  Acanthaspis,  but  differing  in  this,  that 
they  are  not  united  by  sutures  with  flat  bones  or  plates,  but  are  the  extrem- 
ities of  such  plates  drawn  out  into  spines,  which  must  have  projected  from  the 
general  surface.  The  broader  plates  are  quite  thin,  and  seem  to  have  been 
applied  to  flat  or  arched  surfaces,  while  those  which  form  spines  have  their 
remote  extremities  narrowed  and  thickened  till  they  become  prominent  and 
effective  defensive  organs.     In  some  instances  the  plates  are  triangular  in 


FISHES  OP  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


36 


outline,  and  seem  to  have  been  thin  cones  of  bone  or  enamel,  supported  by 
cartilaginous  centers.  As  the  latter  are  decomposed,  the  sides,  which  were 
once  widely  separated,  were  brought  together  or  crushed  in  like  broken 
shells. 

The  external  surface  of  these  plates  is  tuberculated  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  In  some  instances  the  tubercles  are  large,  scattered,  smooth  and 
rounded,  and  resemble  pustules.  In  other  cases  they  are  irregular  and 
crowded ;  while  occasionally  they  are  in  rows,  the  interstices  between  them 
being  beautifully  ciiased  and  ornamented.  Along  the  margins  of  the  spi- 
nous extremities  of  the  plates  the  tubercles  are  elongated  until  they  become 
conical  denticles. 

On  PI.  XXXI,  Figs.  5,  5»  represent  a  large  pair  of  plates  in  their  rel- 
ative positions  ;  Fig.  .'5^  two  such  pairs.  A  number  of  groups  of  this  kind 
have  been  found,  thougli  the  individual  plates  are  oftener  met  with  entirely 
separated  from  their  connections.  The  extremity  of  Fig.  5  is  not  quite  com- 
plete. Other  specimens  show  that  it  was  produced  to  a  moderately  acute 
flattened  point.  This  narrow  end  was  beautifully  denticulated,  was  tuber- 
culated on  both  sides,  and  evidently  projected  from  the  body  or  head  as  a 
defensive  sp'ne. 

Formation  and  locality:  Corniferous  limestone;  Delaware,  and  San- 
dusky. Ohio. 

Genua  ACANTHASPIS,  Newb. 

This  name  is  used  to  designate  certain  cranial  bones  of  what  seems  to 
have  been  a  Cephalaspid,  found  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  of  Ohio.  Con- 
siderable variety  is  noticeable  in  the  shape  of  these  plates,  and  it  is  apparent 
that  they  formed  parts  of  a  tessellated  cranium.  They  are  generally  some- 
what oblong  in  fonn,  the  greater  part  of  the  plate  being  quadrangular,  while 
one  of  the  margins  is  oblique  and  prolonged  into  an  acute  point,  and  to  this 
margin  is  spliced  a  carinated,  toothed  spine,  sometimes  four  or  five  inches  in 
length.  These  spines  bear  considerable  resemblance  to  the  dorsal  defenses 
of  some  extinct  Sharks.  They  might,  indeed,  under  some  circumstances  be  ) 
accepted  as  the  spines  of  Ctcnacanthm,  since  they  are  marked  with  pectinated 
ribs  much  in  the  same  way,  but  their  attachment  to  bony  plates  and  the^ 


36 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


denticulation  of  both  sides  of  the  pointed  extremity  show  distinctly  that 
they  have  only  a  superficial  resemblance  to  the  defensive  spines  of  Elas- 
mobranch  fishes.  When  complete  and  seen  in  jjosition  they  reveal  their 
afiinities  with  the  lateral  cornua  of  the  cephalic  buckler  of  CepJialaspis. 
The  external  surface  of  the  plates  to  which  these  spines  are  attached  is 
marked  with  a  conspicuous  and  peculiar  ornamentation,  much  like  that  of 
Bothriolepls ;  a  series  of  convoluted,  locally  parallel,  raised  and  beaded 
lines.  As  the  central  plates  of  Acanthaspls  have  never  been  found  in  con- 
nection, it  is  impossible  to  give  at  present  the  form  of  the  cranium,  but 
they  are  seen  to  be  in  pairs,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  when  united 
they  formed  a  rounded  heaii  buckler,  which  diff'ered  from  that  of  Cepha- 
lasjiis  mainly  in  being  composed  of  a  series  of  separable  plates,  instead  of 
forming  a  solid  box. 


m 


ACANTHASPIS   AUMATITS   Newb. 
Plate  XXX,  Fiss.  1-4. 

Cranium  consisting  of  a  number  of  bony  plates,  forming  several  pairs, 
jind  differing  considerably  in  outline.  To  at  least  one  of  these  pairs  are 
attached,  on  the  outer  margin,  strong,  ."^lightly  curved,  carinated,  tuber- 
culated  and  toothed  spines.  The  external  siu'face  of  the  plates  is  covered 
with  convoluted  or  radiated  raised  lines,  which  are  more  or  less  tuber- 
culated. 

Several  cranial  plates  of  this  species  are  represented  in  the  figures  now 
published,  and  these  will  give  a  better  idea  of  their  form  and  markings  than 
any  verbal  description  can  do.  These  plates,  and  the  spines  which  are  con- 
nected with  some  of  them,  are  frequently  met  with  in  the  Corniferous  lime- 
stoTio  of  Sandusky  and  Delaware,  Ohio,  but  like  the  cranial  ])lates  of  Ony- 
ihodiis,  they  seem  to  have  had  no  bony  attachment  to  each  other,  and  in  the 
dissolution  of  the  body  of  the  fish  which  bore  them  they  have  been  widely 
separated.  There  is  little  doubt  that  sooner  or  later  some  cranium  will  be 
found  in  which  the  bones  hold  their  normal  positions,  and  from  such  a  spec- 
imen a  more  complete  description  of  the  fish  can  be  drawn  than  can  now  be 
given.     Waiting  the  discovery  of  such  complete  material,  the  plates  now 


Flotiiiia  OF  THE  DKYONIAN  AGK. 


1J7 


%ured  will  doubtless  be  looked  upon  with  interest,  and  will  stimulate  the 
search  for  nioro  remains  of  what  has  till  recently  been  an  entirely  unknown 
Devonian  fish. 

Order  ELASMOBRANCHII. 

Genus  MACULE RACANTHUS,  Newb. 

Spines  often  of  large  size,  curved,  ani.pital,  unsymmetrical  (dextral 
and  .sinistral);  edges  and  point  generally  acute;  base  somewhat  narrowed 
will,  a  rough  and  irregular  extremity ;  central  cavity  reaching  nearly  to  the 
apex;  external  surface  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  enamel,  in  some  spe- 
c.es  smooth,  in  others  punctate  and  longitudinally  striated;  microscopic 
structure  that  of  dense,  ivory-like  bone. 

These  spines  are  very  characteristic  of  the  horizon  of  the  Corniferous 
imestone,  having  been  found  at  this  level  in  Indiana,  various  localities  in 
Ohio,  m  New  York,  and  at  Gaspc^,  Canada.     Though  representing  some 
anomalous  characters,  among  winch  the  most  remarkable  is  their  want  of 
symmetry  (being  rights  and  lefts),  it  is  hardly  possible  they  can  be  any- 
tlnng  else  than  the  defensive  spines  of  fishes.     Their  dense,  bony  structuie 
enameled  surface,  and  rough  irregular  bases  would  seem  to  prove  that,  like 
the  fin  spines  of  many  Sharks  and  Rays,  they  had  been  implanted  in  the 
integuments  without  articulation.     Probably  they  were  the  first  rays  of  the 
pectm-al  fins,  which  would  account  for  their  being  in  pairs.     In  that  case  it 
might  be  expected  that  the  bases  would  exhibit  some  marks  of  their  artic- 
ulation to  the  pectoral  arch;    but  as   the  fishes  which   bore  them  were 
undoubte<lly  cartilaginous,  the  insertion  of  pectoral  spines-supposino-  they 
possessed  them-would  natm-ally  son^ewhat  resemble  that  of  the  "dorsal 
spines.     Many  bony  fishes,  as  Arias,  etc.,  bear  formidable  doi-sal  and  pec- 
toral spines,  but  these  always  exhibit  some  indications  of  an  articulation  at 
their  proximal  extremities.    In  the  Sharks,  Chim.ras,  and  Rays,  however,  the 
dorsa  spines  are  simply  implanted  in  the  integuments  of  the  back,  and  each 
spine  has  a  roughened  and  attenuated  base,  which  is  surrounded  bv  a  larger 
or  smaller  mass  of  cartilage.  "'        ^ 


38 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Comparatively  few  cartilaginous  fishes  of  the  present  epoch  are  pro- 
vided with  even  dorsal  spines ;  and  nont?,  so  far  as  known,  carry  spines 
on  the  pectoral  fins.  But  in  the  Mesozoic  and  the  Paleozoic  ages  the  Elas- 
mobranch  fishes  were  much  more  generally  provided  with  spines,  and 
it  18  not  too  much  to  suppose  that  this  tendency  to  the  development  of 
organs  of  defense  should  be  exhibited  in  spines  appended  to  the  anterio 
paired  fins.  We  have,  in  fact,  positive  evidence  that  some  of  the  sharks 
of  the  Carboniferous  age  did  carry  pectoral  spines, 

Severalof  the  species  of  Gyra- 
canthus,  for  example,  are  now  gener- 
ally conceded  to  have  been  pectoral 
spines.  This  is  shown  by  their  want 
of  symmetry,  which  proves  that  they 
were  not  set  on  the  median  line,  and 
by  the  fact  that  they  are  worn  off 
in  various  degrees,  as  though  used 
as  organs  of  locomotion  on  the  sea 
bottom  or  shore.  A  series  of  spines 
of  Gyracanthus  formosus,  in  the  cabi- 
net of  Columbia  College,  show, 
(1)  a  slender,  complete,  evidently 
young  spine  ten  inches  long  and 
unworn,  (2)  a  large  spine  nine 
inches  '  jng,  of  which  the  summit  is  obliquely  and  smoothly  worn  off  where 
five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  (3)  the  base  of  an  old  and  very  large 
spine  worn  away  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  ornamented  portion. 

I  have  silso  shown  in  another  part  of  this  memoir  that  the  spines  called 
Physonemus  Altonensis  by  St.  John  and  Worthen  were  certainly  apj)endage8 
to  the  pectoral  fins.  This  was  first  suspected  from  their  obvious  want  of 
symmetry,  and  was  finally  proved  by  finding  complete  specimens  buried  in 
soft  shale,  in  which  *ae  cleft  of  the  convex  margin  is  occupied  by  the  base 
of  a  broad  pectoral  fin. 


Flo.  1.  Spinrfior  MadiaiTnoanthiisperacutaa, 


FISHES  OF  TUB  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


89 


The  accompanying  wood-cut,  copied  from  my  notes'  on  Machcemcan- 
thm,  is  an  imperfect  representation  of  a  very  interesting  specimen  found  hy 
Professor  Hopkins  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  near  Auburn,  N.  Y.  This 
represents  a  pair  of  spines  of  Machceracanthus  pcmciitus  vvhicli  occupy  nearly 
the  relative  position  they  would  hold  if  they  were  connected  with  the  pec- 
toral fins,  and  these  had  been  brought  near  together.  The  fiict  of  finding 
such  a  pair  of  spines  in  such  relations  practically  demonstrates  that  they 
were  connected  with  the  paired  fins. 

As  I  have  remarked  elsewhere,  Madueracanthus  occurs  in  the  Devonian 
limestones  of  Europe  as  well  as  in  America,  and  Barrande's  so-called  Ctena- 
canllms  Bohemlcus  is  nothing  else  than  a  species  of  Machceracanthus  closely 
allied  to  our  M.  major} 

Mach^racanthus  ma.;or  Newb. 

Plate  XXIX,  Figs.  4,  4». 

Maclutracanthm  major  27.  j  Bull.  Nat.  Inst.,  1857,  p.  6. 
Palaeontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  304,  PJ.  XXV,  Fig.  2. 

Spine  large  and  strong,  length  twelve  to  twenty  inches;  greatest 
breadth  one  and  a  half  inches,  wing  of  concave  border  widest;  point  moder- 
ately acute;  base  narrowed  and  compressed,  with  a  rough  and  irregular 
termination;  upper  surfoce  lightly  striated  longitudinally,  central  axis  pro- 
jecting in  an  imperfectly  rounded  ridge,  one-half  an  inch  wide,  elevated 
three-tenths  of  an  inch  above  the  wings;  under  surface  of  central  axis 
marked  by  about  ten  distinct  longitudinal  carinations;  axis  five-ei-hths 
of  an  inch  wide,  flattened,  obliquely  angled  at  sides,  rising  one-quarLr  of 
an  inch  above  the  wings;  base  unequally  sloped  off  wiiere  it  was  set 
obliquely  into  the  integuments.  At  this  point  the  carinations  of  the  upper 
part  become  obsolete;  sides  of  axis  above  and  below  punctate. 

Formation  and  locality:    Corniferous  limestone ;  Columbus,  Delaware, 
and  Sandusky,  Ohio. 

'  Pahcontolosy  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  30;t.  ~  "        ~~ 


;pK>  iwnimai^i^ 


40  PALEOZOIU  F1SUE8  OF  NOlCTU  AMKKICA. 

Mach^kacantiius  PERACUTU8  Newb. 
Plate  XXIX,  Fips.  G,  6». 

^faehwracanthull  pcmcutiiH  N.j  Bull.  Nat.  Iimt.,  loc.  cit. 
rnln-oiitologj  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  305,  PI.  XXIX,  Fig.  6. 

Spines  five  to  six  inches  in  length,  seven  to  eight  h'nes  wido;  point 
and  edges  very  sharp;  wings  nearly  equal ;  central  axis  on  the  upper  sur- 
face forming  a  sharp  and  narrow  carination,  below  a  higher  but  more 
rounded  ridge. 

This  is  perhaps  the  species  most  common  in  Ohio.  It  will  be  recognized 
by  its  small  size,  the  acuteness  of  its  point  and  edges,  and  by  the  angular 
ridge  of  the  median  line  above  and  below.  It  is  the  species  referred  to 
in  the  generic  description  and  that  which  furnished  the  figures  employed 
there  to  show  tlie  paired  character  of  these  spines.  The  average  size  and 
appearance  are  well  sliown  in  tlio  illustration  cited  above. 

Formation  and  locality:    Coi-niferons  limestone;    Delaware  and  San- 
dusky, Ohio. 

Mach^racanthus  sulcatus  ^.ewb. 
Plato  XXIX,  Figs.  5,  5». 

Machwracanthus  sulcntun,  N. ;  Bull.  Nat.  Iiist.,  loc.  cit. 
Palaeontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  305. 

Spine  four  to  eight  inches  in  length,  six  to  ten  lines  wide;  upper  sur- 
face smooth,  with  a  strong  and  sharp  carination  along  the  axis;  wing  of 
convex  side  widest;  opposite  wing  narrow,  and  exhibiting  a  strong  marginal 
sulcus,  giving  it  a  double  edge;  under  surface  of  axis  rounded,  with  several 
longitudinal  sulci  and  carinse  and  with  oblique  angles  at  sides. 

At  the  time  of  writing  the  description  of  this  species  I  had  no  suffi- 
ciently good  specimen  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  figure.  Since  then  I  have, 
however,  found  better  specimens  in  the  collection  of  the  late  Dr.  Mann,  now 
belonging  to  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and  a  num- 
ber of  more  or  less  well-preserved  spines  have  been  sent  to  me  for  examina- 
tion from  Canada.  It  would  seem  that  the  sharks  that  carried  these  spines 
were  more  numerous  in  those  portions  of  the  Corniferous  sea  which  covered 


FISHES  OF  THE  DBVONlA]*J  AGU. 


41 


weBtern  New  York  und  southern  Canada  tl.au  iu  tlio  more  open  waters  of 
the  area  now  occupied  by  Ohio.  In  tlie  exposures  of  fho  Coniiferous  lime- 
stone on  Kelley's  Island,  Lake  Erie,  at  Sandusky,  Delaware,  and  Columbus, 
Ohio,  fragments  or  complete  spines  of  Macho;  raca  nth  us  major  and  M  ju-racu- 
tus  are  not  at  all  uncommon,  but  though  collecting  extensively  myself  in 
those  localities  I  never  obtained  there  a  specimen  of  M.  sulcatus. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  section  which  accompanies  the  figure  now  pub- 
lished, the  spines  of  this  species  we-e  much  narrower  and  more  stiletto-like 
than  the  others,  which  rather  suggest  bayonets,  and  afford  an  interesting 
illustration  of  the  device  that  gives  strength  with  economy  of  material^ 
viz,  a  prominent  carina  along  the  middle,  with  concave  slopes  to  the  acute 
edges. 

A  fairly  good  figure  of  this  spine  was  given,  without  a  name,  by  Prof 
James  Hall,  in  the  Geology  of  New  York,  part  4,  page  174,  and  a  reducc-d 
copy  of  Professor  Hall's  figure  is  published  in  Dana's  Manual  of  Geology. 

The  spines  of  M.  su'catus  are  frequently,  perhaps  generally,  twistedras 
the  pectoral  spines  of  Gijracanfhus  formosus  are. 

Formation  and  locality:  Coniiferous  limestone,  Milford,  Ohio,  and  many 
places  in  New  York  and  Canada. 


Order  GANOIDEI. 

Suborder  CHONDROSTEID.S. 

Genus  MACROPETALICHTHYS,  N.  &  O. 

I  have  elsewhere >  defined  this  genus,  and  have  reviewed  its  characters 
and  relations  to  other  fishes,  living  and  fossil,  at  such  length  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  go  over  the  subject  again  in  detail.  The  generic  descrip- 
tion  given  by  Drs.  Norwood  and  Owen  was  very  defective  from  the  imper- 
fections of  the  specimen  which  served  as  a  type.  The  essential  generic 
characters  may  be  briefly  given  as  follows  : 

Ganoid  fishes  of  large  siz*, ;  cranium  composed  of  large  polygonal  plates  united 
by  double  sutures,  whicb  are  nearly  concealed  by  (he  tubercled  enameled  surface;  tu- 
beiculat.ou  stellate,  surfa«!e  ornamer.tc-d  by  double  rows  of  pores  and  single-thread 

'  PuliEoutology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  290.  ~  ' 


42 


PALEOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


lines,  forming  a  pattern  wliicli  do«9  not  uorreNpoiul  witli  the  pliitea  below ;  eye  orbitH 
couHpicnoHS,  inclosett  in  tlie  orbital  (frontal  T)  plates ;  nanul  plate  (ethmoid  T)  wedge- 
ahapod,  the  apex  tnrned  backward,  and  reaching  to  the  center  of  the  cranium ;  occip- 
ital plate  (HUpra  occipital)  oblong,  einarginate  behind,  prolonged  anteriorly  into  a 
point,  which  meets  the  opposing  point  of  the  nasal  plate;  teeth  and  scales  unknown, 
probably  wanting. 

Since  tlie  publication  of  the  above  description  numerous  heads  of  Ma- 
cropetalichthifs  have  been  found  at  different  phices  in  the  Corniforous  lime- 
stone, and  two  of  these  which  I  have  examined  show  the  under  surface. 
This  is  in  a  general  way  flat  and  smooth,  but  is  marked  by  a  transverse 
furrow,  which  probably  indicates  the  position  of  the  mouth.  No  jaws  or 
teeth  are  visible,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  fishes  of  this  genus  had  no 
bony  jaws  or  teeth;  otherwise  they  would  long  since  have  been  discovered. 
It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  the  mouth  of  Macropetallchthys  was  like 
that  of  the  sturgeons,  with  which  I  h  m  inclined  to  associate  it,  soft  and  suc- 
torial. Whether  there  were  rudimentary  jaws  like  those  of  Acipenser 
attached  to  the  head  of  Macropetalkhthys  we  cajinot  say,  but  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible. Yet,  even  if  jaws  were  wanting,  that  would  seem  to  me  no  good 
reason  why  this  should  not  be  considered  a  fish  and  a  member  of  the  order 
Chondrostcidve. 

Professor  Ha?ckel  has  made  the  possession  of  an  under  jaw  a  condition 
of  the  acceptance  of  any  organism  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  fishes ;  but 
this  seems  to  me  to  be  unphilosophiccal  and  unwarranted.  No  one  can  say 
to  what  limits  the  atrophy,  by  modification  or  disuse,  of  any  single  organ 
among  th.,  veitebrates  may  be  carried.  Perhaps  nine-tenths  of  the  organs 
might  reruain  distinguishable  and  even  normal  while  one  perished,  and  it 
is  a  short  sighted  philosophy  which  would  classify  the  animal  kingdom  by 
a  rule  so  narrow.  A  wing  is  generally  reg.arded  as  a  characteristic  and  es- 
sential organ  in  a  bird,  but  we  know  that  in  Apteryx  and  Dinornis  the  wings 
are  practically  obsolete,  and  yet  no  one  would  dare  to  exclude  these  from  the 
class  of  birds.  Macropctalichthys  was  c  Hently  a  large  and  doubtless  nor- 
mal member  of  the  great  group  of  fishes  which  led  and  gave  character  to 
the  life  of  the  Devonian  age.  As  I  have  elsewhere  urged,  it  was  undoubtedly 
a  fish,  and  probably  an  ancestral  form  of  the  sturgeons  of  to-day.  Indeed, 
it  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  to  find  that  it  represented  so  well  the 


FI8HK8  OF  TIIK  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


48 


essential  clmmctorH  of  tlio  sturgeons.  The  niunbor  mu\  size  of  tlio  body- 
Hciites  of  the  sturgeons  viiry  much.  In  Saiphbhifuchns  thoy  are  nearly  con- 
tiguous; in  rolyodon  they  are  absent;  and  of  the  sturgeons  with  fe^-'or  no 
scutes  nothing  but  the  cranium  would  be  likely  to  be  preserved  in  fossiliza- 
tion.  I  have  often  found  on  the  beaches  of  islands  in  Luke  Erie  the  remains 
of  sturgeons  thrown  up  by  tlie  waves.  Tiiese  usually  consist  of  scattered 
dermal  scutes  and  the  bruin-box ;  often  the  cranium  alone  was  found,  a 
hollow  shell  of  bone,  from  which  all  the  appendages  of  the  under  side  and 
interior  had  been  removed  by  decay.  The  resemblance  of  such  an  object 
to  the  craniinn  of  ManoprfalicJitlii/s  is  striking,  and  when  we  compare  the 
cranial  plates  of  both,  there  seems  to  be  as  close  correspondence  as  we  often 
find  between  living  and  fossil  fishes  I  give  below  a  diagram  of  the  cranial 
plates  of  Maanpctalkhthys  with  my  reading  of  their  homologies. 

I  have  mentioned  in  the  Palae- 
ontology of  Ohio  that  Macroptta- 

lichthjfs  occurs  in  the  Devonian  lime- 
stone of  Germany,  and  have  leferred 

to  the  fact  that  the  cranium  of  a 

species  of  this  genus  was  described 

by   von  Meyer'  with  the  name  of 

riacothomx  Ayassizi,  as  he  suj)posed 

his  fossil  to  be  generically  identical 

with    Plarothorax   of  Agassi/,  ;    but 

these  fossils  have  really  no  relation- 

shii)   with  each  other.      Plncnthorax 

is  nothing  but  the  pectoral  organ  of 

a  large  species  of  Ptirichtfiys.     Von 

Meyer's  specimen  is  also  reversed, 

the  occ'pital  bone  beinjr  taken  for  v  v,,    ?,"  ^  craniaipiatcofM.acmpctniichtiiy.. 

"  ^.  Etlimolil.  Fr.  Fr^r.'f'  Pa  PnrielaU 

the  nasal,  etc.     By  reference  to  his  rA^irSl!;!!"'-  5>^:  S1;iJ{:„.Lu...    ^^p.te„T" 
figure^  this  will  be  seen  at  a  gjance.      Unfortunately  the  tuberculated 


'  Neues  JabrbuoU  fUr  Mineral.,  1846,  p.  596.    "     ~  .  Palseontograp^,  vol.  1,  p.  m,  K^. 


44 


I'ALKO/OIC  FlHirKH  OF  NORTH  AMKUKJA. 


onftmelod  coatinj?  of  tlio  craiiiiil  pliitoH  ia  wanting,  and  we  cannot  make  a 
(lotail(((l  connmrisdii  with  our  spocieh. 

Rooontly  I  liiid  an  opportunity  of  seoinj,'  another  Hpocinien  of  Macr(q)e- 
taUchthfs  in  iierh'n,  where  it  waH  exhibited  witli  other  Devonian  fisheH  found 
by  Prof.  A.  von  Koenen  in  Devonian  Htrata  near  (Jflttinfrcn.  'I'his  iH 
remarkably  like  our  Hpocie.s  M.  Snllimnfi,  but  is  HUialler  and  diU'orent  in  the 
oriianientation  of  the  cranial  plates.  In  our  specieH  they  are  closely  set 
with  stellate  enameled  tubercles,  but  in  von  Koenon's  specimen  the  tuber- 
cles coalesce,  running  into  convoluted  parallel  lines  like  the  ornamentation 
of  Vterichtkijs  and  Acanthaspis. 


I 


Genus  ASTEROSTKUS,  Newb. 

Of  this  fit;h  the  cranium  only  is  known,  and  of  this  all  the  specimens 
yet  obtained  are  incomplete.     The  head  was  ajjparently  long-  and  narrow, 
the  sides  nearly  straight,  broadeiung  siuldenly  in  the  occipital  region.    The 
posterior  margin  of  the  cranium  shows  two  broad  arcdies— one  on  either  side 
of  the  main  line — in  which  the  cranial  bones  are  deeply  excavated,  as  though 
for  muscular  attachment.    The  skull  is  terminated  behind  by  two  conspicu- 
ous rounded  projections,  having  the  aspect  of  condyles,  but  which,  so  far  as 
can  be  seen,  show  no  articulating  faces.     The  upper  surface  of  the  cranium 
is  covered  with  relatively  large,  beautifully  stellate  tubercles,  which  vary 
considerably  in  size.     Toward  the  nasal  extremity  are  two  linear  furrows, 
which  diverge  from  the  middle  line  of  the  cranium  and  inclose  two  strongly 
marked  elliptical  pits  that  closely  resemble  the  nostrils  of  some  reptiles 
In  none  of  the  specimens  of  this  peculiar  fish  yet  obtained  have  the  out- 
lines of  the  cranial  plates  been  distinguishable,  the  surface  being  covered 
by  a  sheet  of  tuberculated  enamel,  by  which  the  sutures  are  entirely  con- 
cealed.    On  the  sides  the  cranium  is  somewhat  beveled  off,  as  though  for 
the  attachment  of  some  coriaceous  or  ligamentous  appendage,  or  perhaps 
for  co-adaptation  to  lateral  head  plates  ;  none  of  which  have,  however,  been 
found.     The  dentition  of  Asterosteus  is  quite  unknown,  as  no  jaws  or  teeth 
have  been  discovered  witi.  its  remains. 


p 


FlHilKH  Oi'  TIIK  DEVONIAN  A(iK.  45 

AhTKHOSTKL-8    STKNOCKIMIALirs,  Nowb. 

IMiiUi  XXX,  Fijf  1. 

AHtero»teu»  HlenocephaluH,  N.;  I'.ilajoutology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  3J,  pi.  54,  (|g,  1. 

Head  eight  inches  ,.i-  more  in  length,  by  two  nnd  u  half  in  width,  ex- 
cept lit  the  occiput,  wliere  it  H.uhleidy  widens  mid  becomes  fouror'five 
inchcH  broad.     It  terminate^•  posteriorly  in  two  excavated  arches,  of  whicli 
the  surface  is  roughened,  apparently  for  mus(!ular  attachnKuit.     Proj(H!ting 
behind  and  below  these  arches  are  two  bony  condyloid  pn.minences  an 
inch  or  more  in  length      The  upper  surface  of  the  craniiun  is  somewhat 
irregularly  covered   with  stellate  tubercles,  which  vary  in  size  from  one- 
eighth  to  one-twentieth  of  an  inch  in  dianieter     The  sides  of  the  crnnium 
are  somewhat  beveled  and  roughened,  and  ai-e  traversed  by  an  irregular 
line  of  relatively  larger  tubercles.     Near  the  anterior  end  the  head  seems  to 
be  suddenly  narrow,      and  just  at  this  point  it  bears  two  deeply  impressed, 
elliptical  nasal  (I;  orifices,  placed  side  by  side,  somewhat  divergent  for- 
ward, and  having  a  length  of  live  lines  and  a  breadth  of  two  lines.     The 
dentition  is  entirely  unknown,  as  is  also  the  covering  of  the  body. 

Formation  and  locality:  Corin'ferous  limestone;    Sandusky  and  Dela- 
:vare,  Oiiio. 

Order  HOLOCEPHALI. 

Genus  KHYNCHODUS,  Newb. 

In  the  PaUt,«ontology  of  Ohio  (vol.  1,  p.  307)  I  described  a  peculiar 
group  of  dental  organs  of  Klasmobranch  fishes,  under  the  name  of  lUiyu- 
chodm.  These  occur  not  infrecpiently  in  the  Corniferous  and  ILunilton 
limestones,  but  had  not  before  attracted  attention,  simply  because  no  one 
had  interested  himself  in  the  vertebrate  fossils  of  American  Devonian  rocks. 
The  following  is  a  brief  generic  description  of  these  fossils : 

Teeth  somewhat  crescent-shaped  or  semi-circular,  much  compressed ; 
the  exterior  margins  regularly  curved,  the  interior  nearly  straight  and  more 
or  less  thickened;  one  of  the  cornua  produced  and  somewhat  acute,  the 
other  rounded  and  obtuse.  Tha  straight  side  formed  a  triturating  or  cutting 
edge.     In  some  species  it  was  sharp,  and  played  upon  the  similar  edge  o^f 


46 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERIOA. 


U 


tlie  opposite  tooth ;  in  others  it  was  broader,  and  was  fitted  for  crushing 
niolhisks  or  other  food.  Internal  structure  of  teeth  cancellated ;  the  trit- 
urating surllice  being  roughened  by  the  extremities  of  calcigerous  tubes. 
The  number  of  teeth  and  details  of  dentition  are  not  yet  known,  but  we 
may  infer  from  their  shape  that  thoy  were  placed  at  the  anterior  extremities 
of  the  head  to  form  a  kind  of  rostrum  or  beak,  much  as  the  dental  plates  of 
Chimaira  are  placed.  As  none  of  the  margins  show  marks  of  contact  with 
other  teeth,  we  may  conclude  there  were  but  four  having  this  form. 

The  internal  structure  of  these  teeth  varies  somewhat  in  the  different 
species,  ad?  pting  each  to  its  functions.  In  B.  secmis  the  central  portion  is 
cancellated  by  interwoven  calcigerous  tubes,  while  the  surfaces  are  com- 
posed of  tissue  almost  as  dense  as  enamel,  so  that  the  cutting  edges  pro- 
duced by  the  friction  of  opposing  teeth  on  er.ch  other  were  kept  constantly 
sharp  and  effective.  In  R.  frangens,  however,  in  whicli  the  upper  edge  is 
thick  and  presents  a  broad  triturating  surface  to  the  opposite  tooth,  the  den- 
tal tissue  is  cancellated  throughout,  affording  by  use  that  peculiar  rough- 
ened surface  seen  on  the  teeth  of  Cestracionts  (Psammodus,  etc.). 

Speaking  of  the  zoological  relations  of  Rhynchodus  in  the  article  referred 
to  I  used  the  following  language : 

In  regard  to  the  aiBnitios  of  Bhynchodus,  it  seems  to  me  we  have  no  good  reason 
to  doubt  tbat  they  form  the  dentition  of  Chimseroid  fishes,  and  that  we  have  in  them 
evidence  of  the  existence  on  the  globe  of  the  Holocephali  at  a  period  long  anterior  to 
the  date  of  the  strata  in  which  their  oldest  remains  have  hitherto  been  found.  As  has 
been  stated  in  the  general  review  of  our  fossil  fishes,  the  Chimferoids  of  our  present 
seas  (Ghimccra  and  Callorhynchus)  are  the  remnants  of  an  order  of  cartilaginous  fishes 
which  once  held  a  much  more  important  place  than  now  in  the  fauna  of  the  jrlobe.  In 
Europe  the  remains  of  the  teeth  of  O'lijseroids  have  been  discoven'd  in  Tertiary, 
Oretaueous,  and  Jurassic  strata,  but  none  in  older  formations,  if  we  exct^pt  the  some- 
what anomalous  Ptyctodus  found  by  Pander  in  the  Devonian  of  Russia.'  •  •  •  Tho 
affinities  of  P'i/ci'<  •?»<«  may  be  somewhat  doubtful,  although  I  have  been  inclined  to 
consider  the  teetL  descsribed  under  this  name  as  probably  the  dentition  of  some  Chi- 
majroid  fislies. 

Whatever  may  be  though^  of  the  relations  of  Ptyctodus,  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  fossil  Chimasroids  described  by  Sir  Philip  Egerton  will  i)robably  not  hesitate 
to  group  Rhynchodus  with  them. 

Although  the  Holocephali  have  heretofore  been  supposed  to  be  limited  h\  their 
downward  range  by  the  Jurassic  formation,  since  we  have  evidence  that  our  Jiving 


■  Ueber  die  Ctenodipteiiren  des  DeroniHcben  Syiit«DiB,  p.  48,  pi.  8. 


FISIJKS  OF  Till']  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


47 


Cliimseroids  ar;*  only  tlio  remnants  of  an  expiring  fuina,  it  was  to  bo  expected  that 
the  life  of  this  fauna  would  ht  found  to  reach  far  back  in  tinie;  and  it  was  quite  con- 
sistent with  all  the  facts  before  known  to  find  traces  of  Chinneroids  in  Paheozoic  rocks. 
The  Kavs,  on  the  other  hand,  are  ai)parentl.v  a  couii)aratively  modern  offshoot 
from  tlie  original  Silachian  stock.  We  have  no  evidence  of  their  existence  at  a  period 
anterior  to  the  .Jurassic  age,  and  they  are  evidently  now  in  tl"Mr  epoch  of  fullest 
development;  while  the  Chimicroids,  iu  their  decadence,  should  naturally  have  had 
an  earlier  birth. 

Since  these  notes  were  written  Sir  Philip  Egerton  lias  said  in  a  letter 
to  nie  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  affinities  of  the  fishes  which  bore  the 
teeth  of  Ithynchodus  with  the  Chima;roids  of  the  present  day,  and  as  he  has 
studied  tins  family  more  carefully  than  any  other  naturalist,  this  conclusion 
will  probably  not  be  questioned. 

Quite  recently  I  have  received  from  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Greene,  of  Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,  a  number  of  fragments  of  the  teeth  of  a  large  species  of 
Mynchodus,  obtained  by  him  from  the  hydraulic  limestone  quarries  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  city.  On  another  page  I  have  described  these  remains  and 
named  the  species  after  the  discoverer.  From  Prof.  T.  C.  Chamberliii,  State 
geologist  of  Wisconsin,  I  have  received  a  tooth  of  another  and  smaller 
species,  found  in  the  Hamilton  rocks  of  Brown  Deer,  Wis.  This  species  I 
have  called  Rhynchodus  excavatus,  and  have  briefly  described  and  figured  it 
in  another  part  of  this  memoir. 

Rhynchodus  skcans,  Newb. 
Plate  XXVIII,  Figs.  1-3. 

Rhynchodus secans,  Newb;  Paleontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  310,  pi.  28,  fig.  1. 

Teeth  somewhat  semi-circular  in  form,  posterior  angle  rounded  or 
obtuse,  the  anterior  prolonged  into  a  more  or  less  acute  point;  posterior 
and  inferior  margins  thin  and  sharp,  anterior  and  superior  margins  thick- 
ened;  lateral  surfaces  smooth,  almost  polished;  interior  face  flattened,  ex- 
terior sloping  from  the  anterior  and  upper  thickened  edges  to  the  thin  mar- 
gins behind  and  below;  upper  margin  nearly  straight ;  anterior  Iwlf  often 
worn  to  a  sharp,  knife-like  edge  by  contact  with  the  corresponding  edge  of 
the  opposite  and  overlapping  tooth. 

Of  t.iese  singular  teeth  I  have  quite  a  number  from  the  upper  portion 
of  the  Corniferous  limestone  at  Sandusky  and  Delaware,  Ohio.     In  outline 


48 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTU  AMERICA. 


il  i 


they  forn  tlie  segment — from  one-third  to  one-half — of  a  circle,  and  are 
from  three  to  four  inches  in  lenjjth  across  the  straiolit  side.  They  were 
apparently  four  in  number,  so  set  as  to  form  paii's  of  shears.  All  the  speci- 
mens I  have  are  considerably  worn,  the  anterior  half  of  the  upper  margin 
being  beveled  off  to  form  a  straight,  acute,  cutting  edge. 

In  general  form  and  structure  these  teeth  correspond  closely  with  those 
I  have  described  under  the  name  of  Rliynckodus  frangens,  but  are  smaller, 
narrower,  smoother,  and  much  less  thick  and  massive.  They  are  also  at 
once  distinguishable  by  their  cutting  edges. 

On  PI.  XXVIII,  Fig  1,  is  represented  a  tooth  of  Rhynchodus  secans, 
showing  a  nmchworn  cutting  edge.  Fig.  1*  represents  a  section  of  the 
same.  Figs.  2  and  3  are  a  pair  of  these  teeth  placed  in  their  natural  posi- 
tions. All  these  figures  are  of  natural  size.  Figs  2  and  3  are  taken  from 
a  group  of  four  found  together,  and  forming  apparently  the  dentition  of  a 
single  fish. 

Formation  and  locality :  Cornifevous  limestone ;  Sandusky  and  Dela- 
ware, Ohio. 

Rhynchodus  frangess,  Newb. 

Plate  XXIX,  Figs.  2,  2»,  3. 

Teeth  semi-lunar  in  form,  one  side  slightly  concave,  the  opposite  mar- 
gin strongly  convex  and  regularly  rounded ;  type  specimen  four  inches  and 
eight  lines  in  length,  depth  at  the  crown  of  the  arch  two  inches  and  nine 
lines ;  sides  flattened ;  greatest  thickness,  six  lines ;  concave  side  showing 
a  triturating  surface  on  its  anterior  half  and  rising  upward  into  a  beak-like 
point;  lateral  surfaces  smooth  and  polished ;  the  lower  and  rounded  portion 
of  the  tooth  formed  by  thin  walls  of  bone  inclosing  a  deep  cavity ;  crown 
portion  thick  and  strong 

The  above  description  is  based  upon  a  tooth  that  seems  to  exhibit  an 
unusual  perfection  of  preservation,  as  there  are  several  in  the  collection 
before  me  which  apparently  represent  the  crown  portion — the  massive  an- 
terior angle  with  its  beak-like  point  and  triturating  surface — while  the  broad 
and  smooth  expansion  of  the  sides  formed  by  the  thin  and  shelly  portion  is 
altogether  wanting.  It  is,  however,  possible  that  these  are  corresponding 
teeth  from  opposite  jaws,  of  which  one  form  exhibits  a  crown  portion  with 


FlSHEd  OF  TUE  DEVONIAN  AGE.  49 

a  broad  expansion  of  marginal  wall,  inclosing,  perhaps,  a  pulp  cavity,  while 
the  other  is  simply  concave  below,  for  adaptation  to  the  convex  siuface  of 
a  supporting  jaw.  Just  such  a  difference,  indeed,  is  seen  in  the  teeth  of  the 
upper  and  lower  jaws  of  Callorhjnchus. 

The  microscopic  structure  of  these  teeth  is  similar  to  that  of  many  of 
the  teeth  of  extinct  Selachians,  such  as  Cochliodus,  rsammodus,  etc.,  viz,  a 
cancellated  or  reticulated  tissue  formed  by  radiating  and  branching  calcig- 
erous  tubes  completely  solidified  near  the  exterior,  but  wearing  in  sucli^a 
manner  as  to  leave  a  peculiar  roughened  and  punctate  grinding  surface. 
The  general  form  of  the  most  perfect  of  these  teeth  is  very  similar  to  that 
of  those  I  have  designated  by  the  name  of  Rhynchodus  secans;  but  in  that 
species  the  lower  margin  is  not  so  strongly  arched,  and  the  crown  forms  a 
cutting  edge  which  played  on  that  of  the  opposite  tooth.     If  my  view  that 
these  are  the  teeth  of  Chima;roid  fishes  is  accepted,  it  will  perhajjs  be 
thought  that  the  differences  between  these  two  species  have  generic  value, 
as  they  are  quite  as  striking  as  those  which  separate  the  genera  Edaphodon, 
Ganodus,  Ischyodus,  Elasmodus,  etc.     Yet,  as  it  seems  to  me,  with  so  little 
material  before  us  and  knowing  so  little  of  the  complete  dentition  of  either 
species,  it  would  be  somewhat  premature  to  attempt  now  to  define  more 
than  one  genus. 

The  resemblance  presented  by  these  teeth  to  those  described  by  Buck- 
land'  under  the  name  01  Chinmra  Towmcndii  is  so  striking,  that  to  any  one 
who  will  make  the  comparison  the  question  will  seem  to  be  not  so  much 
whether  the  teeth  under  consideration  are  those  of  a  Chima;roid  fish,  as 
whether  the  present  species  and  that  of  Buckland  do  not  belong  to  the  same 
genus. 

Rhynchodus  crassus,  Nev/b. 

Plate  XXVIII,  Fig.  4. 

Rhynchodus  erasstis,  Newb. ;  Palieoutology  otObio,  vol.  1,  p.  312,  pi.  29,  fig.  3. 

Teeth  large  and  strong,  three  to  fi^e  inches  in  length,  one  and  a  half 

to  two  inches  in  breadth.     Base  expanded,  with  a  somewhat  semi-circular 


MON  XVI 


'  P"W.  Geol.  800.  London,  vol.  3,  1838,  p.  206. 


50 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERKJA. 


outline,  from  which  the  sides  converge  upward  to  an  irregularly  flattened 
and  roughened  crown,  that  rises  at  the  anterior  extremity  into  a  pointed 
prominence;  base  excavated;  crown  thick  and  strong;  upper  surface  show- 
ing attrition  from  use. 

In  the  teeth  described  above  we  have  a  form  of  which  a  number  of 
examples  have  been  taken  from  the  Corniferous  limestone.  None  of  these, 
however,  are  sufficiently  complete  to  enable  us  to  give  all  desinible  details 
of  their  normal  outlines  and  structure.  So  far  as  we  can  judge  from  this 
material,  the  original  form  of  these  teeth  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  one  I 
have  described  under  the  name  of  Ithijnchodus  secans,  but  they  were  evi- 
dently much  thicker  and  stronger,  and  were  fitted  for  crushing  rather  than 
for  cutting.  For  the  reasons  already  given  I  have  been  led  to  group  these 
with  the  other  teeth  now  described  under  the  same  generic  title,  and  to 
regard  them  as  the  remains  of  fishes  having  more  affinity  with  Chmcera  and 
CaUorhynchus  than  with  any  others  now  living. 

Probably  the  accumulation  of  more  material  will  enable  future  paleon- 
tologists to  determine  more  accurately  the  relations  of  this  grouj^  of  fishes 
with  each  other  and  with  our  living  fauna;  and  it  is  possible  that  their 
researches  will  modify  in  some  degree  the  views  now  advanced.  1  have 
thought,  however,  that  the  publication  of  figures  and  descriptions  of  this 
singular  group  of  fossils  would  at  least  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  stimulating 
collections  and  researches  by  which  their  structure  and  relations  would  be 
more  fully  ascertained. 

Formation  and  locality:  Corniferous  limestone;  Sandusky,  Delaware, 
and  Kelley's  Island,  Ohio. 

Shynchodus  excavatus,  Newb. 

Plate  XXIX,  Figs.  1,  1". 

B.  excavatm,  N.;  Geol.  Survey  Wisconsin,  vol.  2,  1877,  p.  396. 

Tooth  small;  size  when  entire  perhaps  two  and  a  half  inches  long  by 
one  and  a  quarter  deep;  the  crown  alone  preserved.  Of  this  the  external 
surface  is  marked  vertically  witli  vermicular  furrows;  superior  margin  sin- 
uous, terminating  anteriorly  in  a  prominent  point;  the  superior  surface 
irregularly  excavated  and  roughened,  showing  two  elevations  or  tubercles. 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


51 


one  on  the  middle  of  the  exterior  margin  and  one  near  the  anterior  ex- 
tremity. Tlie  inner  surface  of  the  tooth  shows  a  prominent  ridge  running 
up  to  the  anterior  point. 

Tin's  tooth  is  evidently  fitted  for  triturating  rather  than  cutting,  and 
resembles  in  its  general  form  It.  frangem,  of  the  Corniferous  limestone.  It 
is,  however,  much  smaller  and  thinner;  and  the  tubercles  of  the  upper  sur- 
face are  situated  differently  from  those  in  that  species.  -  • 

Formation  and  locality:  Hamilton  group:  Brown  Deer,  Milwaukee 
County,  Wis.     Collected  by  Prof  T.  C.  Chamberlin. 

Rhynchodus  Gbeenei,  n.  sp. 

Teeth  large  and  massive,  six  inches  in  length,  one  inch  in  thickness  at 
the  anterior  border;  elliptical  or  semi-circular  in  outline,  the  anterior  angle 
produced  into  a  strong  triangular  point ;  posterior  to  this  a  triturating  flat- 
tened surface  extends  to  or  beyond  the  middle  of  the  superior  margin. 
This  surface  is  broadest  anteriorly,  where  it  is  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in 
width,  and  bears  two  obtuse  rounded  tubercles.  The  sides  are  smooth  and 
jjolished,  terminating  below  in  sharp,  somewhat  waved,  edges. 

The  teeth  of  this  species  resemble  those  of  Rhynchodus  frangcns,  from 
the  Devonian  rocks  of  Ohio,  but  are  narrower  vertically,  and  are  longer 
and  much  thicker  at  the  anterior  border. 

Formation  and  locality :  Hydraulic  limestone  of  Hamilton  age ;  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.     Collected  by  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Greene. 

Order  PLACODERMI. 
DiNICHTHYS   PBECUESOB,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XLI. 

In  the  Corniferous  limestone  at  Sylvania,  Ohio,  Mr.  G.  K.  Gilbert, 
when  connected  with  the  Ohio  Geological  Survey,  obtained  a  dorsomediaii 
plate  of  what  seems  to  have  been  a  species  of  Dinichthys.  It  is  about  eight 
inches  long  by  five  inches  broad;  the  sides  nearly  straight,  the  anterior 
border  emarginate.  The  plate  was  transversely  arched,  nearly  straight 
along  its  central  line;  the  external  surface  in  parts  smooth  or  finely  pitted, 


52 


PALEOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTU  AMERICA. 


in  other  portions  set  with  scattered,  soniewliat  remote,  tubercles.  The  keel 
of  tin  under  side  is  buried  in  the  rock,  and  its  form  cannot  be  made  out; 
but  one  character  is  noticeable  in  which  this  differs  from  the  dorsal  shields 
of  other  species  of  Dinichthi/s ;  that  is,  the  keel  did  not  extend  to  the  posterior 
border,  and  that  border  projected  from  its  base  in  a  flange  five-eighths  of 
an  inch  in  width. 

Unfortunately  the  specimen  obtained  by  Mr.  Gilbert  remains  unique, 
and  little  can  therefore  be  said  of  the  structure  of  the  fisii  which  it  repre- 
sents. It  is,  however,  certain  that  this  was  the  dorsal  shield  of  a  Placoderm 
belonging  to  the  Dinichthida;  and  probably  to  the  genus  D'michthys,  as  no 
other  is  known  to  have  had  a  dorsal  shield  of  similar  character.  If  so,  it  is 
interesting  as  being  the  oldest  member  of  the  genus  of  which  we  have  any 
record. 

COCCOSTEUS   OCCIDENTALI8,    Newb. 
Plate  XXV",  Figs.  2,  2\ 

In  volume  2,  P  ihrontology  of  Ohio,  page  32,  pi.  53,  figs.  2,  2*,  I  have 
described  and  represented  the  dorsomodian  and  ventromedian  plates  of  a 
small  Placoderm  which  I  have  suspected  to  be  a  species  of  Coccosteus.  A  com- 
parison of  these  specimens  with  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  dermal 
defenses  of  Coccosteus  decipiens  Ag.  and  C.  citsjAdotus  Ag.  shows  so  strong  a 
resemblance  that  the  conclusion  that  they  are  generically  identical  seems 
fully  warranted.  As  I  have  elsewhere  stated,  it  also  seems  highly  probable 
that  the  little  mandible  which  I  described'  with  the  name  Liognathus  spatu- 
latus  was  a  jaw  of  the  same  fish.  To  this  conclusion  I  have  been  led  by  an 
examination  of  the  jaws  of  Coccosteus  in  the  British  Museum,  some  of  which 
have  been  recently  found,  and  are  much  more  complete  than  those  figured 
by  Pander  and  Agassiz. 

As  the  specimens  referred  to  above  remain  up  to  the  present  time  the 
only  traces  yet  discovered  of  the  existence  of  Coccosteus  in  America,  more 
than  usual  interest  attaches  to  them,  and  I  have  thought  best  to  reproduce 
in  this  memoir  the  figures  before  published. 

The  Corniferous  limestone  has  proved  to  be  a  great  treasury  of  ichthyic 
remains,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  future  collectors  will  find  in  it  not 


'  Pnlirontology  of  Olifn,  vol.  1 .  p.  :<0f). 


FISHES  OF  TOE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


53 


only  many  new  things,  but  what  will  perhaps  be  more  instructive,  the 
missing  parts  of  organisms  but  imperfectly  represented  in  the  collections 
hitherto  made.  Am  ng  these,  portions  of  the  structure  of  Amnthaspis,  Acan- 
tholcpis,  and  Coccosteus  may  be  mentioned  as  special  desiderata. 

Order  CROSSOPTERyGID.flE. 

Genus  ONYCHODUS,  Newb. 

Ganoid  fishes  of  large  size ;  cranium  composed  of  a  large  number  of 
bony  plates  covered  with  enamel  and  tuberculated;  tuberculation  relative!}' 
fine,  and  formed  by  what  may  be  compared  to  small  grooved  cones,  pressed 
down  and  adherent ;  jaws  set  with  numei'ous  conical,  acute,  more  or  less 
recurved  teeth  of  nearly  uniform  size ;  maxillary  forming  a  low  triangle, 
with  much  produced  acute  lateral  angles ;  dentary  bones  posteriorly  acute, 
where  they  are  overlapped  by  the  articular  portions  of  the  mandibles,  long 
and  narrow,  curving  upward  to  the  symphysis,  where  they  support  an 
intermandibular  arch  of  bone,  to  which  was  attached  a  single  series  of 
large,  curved,  conical  teeth ;  teeth  all  smooth,  covered  with  enamel,  without 
basal  plications;  those  of  the  maxillaries  and  mandibles  implanted  in  socki  is 
or  anchylosed.  The  teeth  of  the  median  crest  are  seven  or  eight  in  number, 
attached  (by  ligaments?)  to  an  arched  base,  from  which  they  radiate. 
They  are  much  curved,  often  sigmoidally,  have  a  circular  section  near  the 
summit,  are  somewhat  compressed  below,  and  expand  at  base  into  several 
prominent  roots  or  tuberosities.  They  have  a  central  cavity  extending 
nearly  to  the  point,  surrounded  by  dentine  simple  in  structure ;  the  exter- 
nal surface  is  formed  by  a  layer  of  smooth  and  polished  enamel. 

The  body  of  Onychodus  was  covered  with  imbricated  scales,  nearly  cir- 
cular in  outline,  and  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  under  surface  of  the 
scale  is  marked  by  fine  concentric  lines,  as  in  Holoptijchius.  The  exposed 
portion  of  the  outer  surface  is  ornamented  with  a  tuberculation  not  unlike 
that  of  the  ])lates,  consisting  of  radiating  but  broken  lines,  and  confused 
groups  of  minute,  furrowed,  appressed  cones. 

This  genus  was  established  by  the  writer  many  years  ago  to  receive 
certain  conical,  curved  teeth  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  '^oraif- 


64 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEltlCA. 


m 


erous  limestone.  Figures  and  descriptions  of  these  teeth  are  given  in  an 
article  on  the  fossil  fishes  of  North  America. '  Ah  tliey  are  generally  found 
detached,  nothing  was  known  until  recently  of  their  relation  to  any  other 
fish  remains  found  in  the  Comiferous  limestone,  and  as  the  most  abundant 
cranium  in  this  rock  is  that  of  Macropetalichthys,  it  was  suggested  that  they 
formed  part  of  the  dentition  of  that  fish  After  a  time,  however,  some  of 
these  teeth  were  found  associated  together  in  rows  of  seven ;  an  arrange- 
ment most  like  that  of  the  teeth  of  Sharks.  And  as  they  seem  to  have  been 
connected  with  thc'r  basal  support  by  only  ligamentous  attachment,  as  the 
teeth  of  Sharks  are  attached  to  their  jaws,  this  circums*ctnce  was  regarded 
as  confirmatory  evidence  of  their  Selachian  charactf  r.  It  hajipened,  how- 
ever, in  several  instances  that  plates  of  v.arious  forms,  maxillaries  and  man- 
dibles set  with  teeth  and  numerous  scales — each  group  evidently  the  frag- 
ments of  a  single  individual — were  found  on  slabs  taken  out  of  the  quarries 
at  Sandusky  and  Delaware.  Among  these  fragments  there  was  almost 
invariably  a  single  series  of  the  teeth  of  Onjfchodtis.  How  to  establish  a 
relationship  between  these  teeth  and  the  associated  remains,  which  were 
those  of  a  well-marked  Ganoid  fish,  was  for  a  long  time  a  puzzle ;  but  by  a 
fortunate  discovery  of  Mr.  Hertzer  the  problem  was  at  last  solved.  He 
found  at  Delaware  a  large  dentary  bone  of  Onychodus,  to  which  the  peculiar 
series  of  large  teeth  are  attached  in  their  normal  position ;  that  is,  be- 
tween the  extremities  of  the  mandibles,  where  tliey  hold  the  position  of  the 
median  row  in  the  dentition  of  a  Shark.  They  are  attached  to  a  bony 
arch,  from  which  they  radiate.  This  is  inserted  in  the  symphysis  of  the 
jaw,  supported  by  a  shoulder  on  the  internal  face  of  the  extremity  of  each 
mandible. 

So  far  as  we  yet  know,  there  are  no  corresponding  or  interlocking 
teeth  in  the  upper  jaw ;  and  hence  it  would  seem  that  they  armed  the  pro- 
jecting extremity  of  the  under  jaw,  just  as  the  steel  point  arms  the  prow  of 
a  steam  ram.  We  shall  probably  find  more  perfectly  preserved  specimens, 
which  will  fully  explain  this  apparently  anomalous  structure,  and  perhaps 
correct  in  some  degree  our  conclusions  in  respect  to  it;  but  the  specimens 

■  NotuB  on  American  Fossil  Fishes ;  Am.  Jonr.  Soi.,  2d  series,  vol.  34, 1862,  p.  73 ;  also  desoribeU  in 
Bnll.  National  lust.,  Jan.,  1857. 


ii 


FISUES  OF  TUK  DEVONIAN  AOK. 


55 


« 

1 


before  me  seem  to  establish  beyond  question  tlie  position  of  these  teeth  in 
the  symphysis  of  the  jaw. 

The  pattern  formed  by  the  numerous  plates  that  compose  the  cranium 
of  Onychodus  is  very  comphcated,  and  presents  a  puzzle  not  yet  solved,  foi- 
the  cranium  hfxs  never  been  found  entire;  and  indeed  it  luis  rartjy  happened 
that  any  two  plates  have  been  seen  in  connection.  In  this  we  have  evidence 
of  a  want  of  solidity  in  the  structure  of  the  cranium,  such  as  has  not  been 
noticed  among  any  of  the  congeners  of  this  fish.  A  number  of  the  plates 
which  compose  the  bony  sti-ucture  of  tlie  head  can,  however,  be  easily  iden- 
tified, such  as  the  opercula,  parietals,  frontals,  etc ,  and  all  the  plates  which 
belong  to  Onychodm  are  easily  recognized  by  their  peculiar  tuberculation. 
This  is  relatively  fine,  and  may  be  compared  to  a  series  of  small,  jjtriated, 
appressed  cones.  In  some  instances  these  cones  show  but  a  single  furrow 
by  which  they  are  notched  at  the  summit ;  their  height  is  two  or  three  times 
the  diameter,  but  each  is  laid  over  and  adherent  to  the  plate  by  its  entire 
side.  A  similar  tuberculation,  though  finer,  covers  the  exposed  portions  of 
the  mandiblei  and  maxillaries. 

In  regard  to  the  affinities  of  Onychodus,  it  is  impossible  now  to  speak 
with  absolute  certainty,  as  all  the  specimens  yet  found  have  been  in  such  a 
dismembered  condition  as  to  leave  some  important  points  of  structure  unde- 
termined. There  is  little  doubt  in  my  mind  that  it  belonged  to  the  Cross- 
opterygidae.  The  features  which  lead  to  this  conclusion  are  the  cycloidal, 
imbricated  scales,  having  the  exposed  portion  strongly,  the  covered  portion 
more  delicately,  yet  elegantly,  ornamented,  much  as  in  Glyptolejns ;  the  spatu- 
late  or  sandal-form  jugular  plates,  and  the  large  rounded  opercula.  Both 
these  latter  plates,  as  well  as  the  supra-temporals,  resemble  in  form  those  of 
Polypterus.  Heuce  we  may  infer  that  when  the  structure  of  Onychodus  is 
more  fully  made  out,  we  shall  find  that  the  paii-ed  fins  were  more  op#bss 
lobate,  the  body  fusiform,  and  the  general  appearance  not  unlike  that  of 
Holoptychius  and  Glyptolcpis. 

The  peculiar  dentition  I  have  described  is  a  point  in  the  stru^  ire  of 
Onychodus  vrhere  it  differs  widely  from  the  fishes  with  which  I  have  asso- 
ciated it ;  but  I  have  elsewhere  shown  how  much  the  dentition  vaines  among 
both   recent  and  fossil   fishes,  which  by  other  characters  are  somewhat 


66 


PALEOZOIC  FISUES  OP  NOKTIl  AMBUIOA. 


N 


II 


H  ■ 
1: 

ii 


closely  approximated.  It  nmy  also  be  said  that  while  on  some  large  slabs 
of  linieHtoiie  we  have  found  apparently  most  of  the  bony  portions  of  Oni/- 
chodus,  among  these  were  no  plates  such  as  belong  to  the  carapaces  of  the 
Placoderms;  and  we  have,  therefore,  no  evidence  that  it  has  any  affinity 
with  Astcrokpiti,  Coccosteus,  etc.  The  scales  of  Onychodus  are  not  unlike 
those  which  were  attributed  by  Hugh  Miller  to  Asterolepis;  but  we  now 
know  that  these  scales  really  belong  to  Ghj^ftolepis,  and  that,  so  far  as  known, 
the  body  of  Asterolepis  was  without  scales. 

Since  the  above  notes'  on  Onychodus  were  written,  in  1873,  two  other 
species  of  the  genus  have  been  diijcovered,  viz:  0.  Hopkinsi,  N.,  and  0.  Ortoni, 
N.,  both  of  which  are  noticed  on  the  following  pages.  IJut  of  the  first  only 
the  intermandibular  teeth  have  been  found,  and  of  the  second  a  single  intQr- 
niandibular  arch  carrying  teeth;  so  that  they  add  little  to  what  was  learned 
from  the  abundant  remains  of  0.  siffmoidcs  in  the  Corniforous  limestone. 

The  descriptions  and  plates  are  here  republished  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  together  all  the  material  yet  known  which  can  serve  to  illustrate 
the  remarkable  dentition  of  Oiiifcliodus  and  to  enable  the  reader  better  to 
appreciate  the  comparisons  which  have  been  made  between  that  and  Edcstm. 

Onychodus  siomoiues,  Newb. 

Plate  XXXVI,  Figs,  1-1";  Plate  XXXVII,  Figs.  1-10. 

OnychoduH  Kiginoides,  N. ;  Piilivoiitology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  299. 

Fishes  of  large  size ;  head  at  least  eighteen  inches  long,  composed  of 
numerous  angular  and  rounded  plates,  su[»ported  on  a  cartilaginous  brain- 
box,  and  so  imperfectly  united  that  in  the  fossil  state  they  are  usually  dis- 
connected and  scattered.  Of  the  head  plates,  the  opercula  are  from  three 
to  %re  inches  in  diameter,  nearly  circular,  but  with  a  produced  anterior 
angle.  The  maxillaries  are  triangular  in  outline,  the  anterior  and  posterior 
angles  much  produced,  the  lower  margin  nearly  straight,  and  set  with  a 
large  numbei'  of  conical,  pointed  teeth.  The  dentary  bone  of  the  mandibles 
is  often  more  than  a  foot  in  length,  curved  gently  upward  at  its  anterior 
extremity,  which  is  rounded.     Its  posterior  extremity  is  thin  and  flattened 

'  PaliBootology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  pp.  296-ii99. 


It 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


57 


i  11 
'i  m 


running  off  to  a  pointed  edge,  where  it  was  overlain  by  the  articular  portion 
of  the  mandible. 

The  upper  margin  of  the  dentary  bono  is  thickly  set  with  conical, 
pointed  teeth.     Embraced  within  the  anterior  extremities  of  the  mandibles 
IS  an  arch  of  bone,  which  supports  a  series  of  large,  conical,  sigmoidally 
curved  teeth,  seven  or  eight  in  number,  set  vertically,  and  projecting  down- 
ward, forward,  and  upward.     These  teeth  show  several  pron.it.ent  roots 
which  partially  embrace  the  bases  of  the  adjacent  teeth.     The  exterior  sur- 
faces of  the  cephalic  plates  and  the  exposed  portions  of  the  niaxillaries  and 
mandibles  are  thickly  set  with  small  enameled  tubercles,  which  have  the  form 
of   appressed,  striated,  or  sulcated  cones.     The    body  was  covered  with 
relatively  thin,  highly  ornanient.Hl  scales.     These  have  a  circular  or  ellip- 
tical outline;  the  imder  surface  is  smooth,  or  faintly  marked  with  concen- 
tric hues,  and  often  bears  a  central  elevated  tubercle  or  ridge.    The  exterior 
surface  shows  an  anterior  semi-lunar  space,  occupying  about  half  its  area, 
where  adjacent  scales  were  superimposed     This   space  is  comi)aratively 
smooth,  but  is  delicately  orUamented  with  radiating  lines  of  pits.     The  pos- 
terior and  exposed  portion  of  each  scale  is  roughened  with  appressed,  striated 
tubercles,  similar  to  those  on  the  cephalic  plates,  and  with  branching,  some- 
what foliated  ridges  of  enamel. 

Formation  and  localit,,:  Corniferous  limestone;  Columbus,  Delaware 
and  Sandusky,  Ohio.  ' 

Section  B.— Fishes  op  the  Hamilton  Group. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  the  Hamilton  group  consists  mainly  of 
shales-argillaceous  and  bituminous-with  only  two  thin  bands  of  lime- 
stone, never  over  three  feet  in  thickness  in  a  thousand  feet  of  strata  As 
we  go  westward  and  recede  from  the  old  shore  the  sheet  of  land-wash 
becomes  thinner,  the  sandstones  and  clay  shales  of  New  York  disappear 
while  the  bituminous  shales  are  more  constant,  running  together  and  form- 
>ng  a  mass,  which  in  Ohio  and  further  south  is  a  very  striking  feature  in  the 
geology.  I  have  called  this  in  Ohio  the  Huron  shale,  because  it  forms  for 
a  long  distance  the  banks  of  the  Huron  River,  and  as  it  represents  several 
distinct  strata  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  it  could  not  with  propriety 


68 


PALEOZOIC  F1SUE8  OF  NOUTU  AMEllIOA. 


M 


i) 

-n 


take  the  name  of  either  of  them.  By  other  {feologist»  it  has  received  various 
names,  and  has  l»een  rogai'ded  as  the  equivalent  of  each  (»f  several  strata,  dis- 
tinct and  somewhat  widely  separated  in  the  east.  The  first  geological  corps 
of  Ohio  called  it  simph-  the  hlack  shale;  I'rof  E.  H.  Andrews,  the  Ohio 
black  shale;  Prof  Kdward  Orton,  the  Ohio  shal(»;  Prof  E.  T  Cox,  State 
geologist  of  Indiana,  the  New  Albany  black  shale,  etc.,  and  it  has  been  re- 
garded as  the  ecjuivalent  of  the  Marcellus,  and  sornetinjes  of  the  Oenesee 
of  New  York.  In  fact  it  is  neither,  but  rather  both,  and  it  also  includes  the 
western  extension  of  the  Portage  and  Hamilton  shales.  This  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  in  different  localities  it  has  yielded  fossils  of  all  these  horizons, 
viz:  C'li/mcuia  comphumta,  Ithifnchonella  liinitaris,  Styliola  /tssiirella,  Discina 
lodensis,  Linynla  spatulata,  etc. 

In  Ohio  the  Huron  shale  is  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet 
in  thickness,  contains  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  carbonaceous  matter, 
and  it  is  the  principal  source  of  petroleum  and  gas  ir  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  and  West  Virginia.  In  most  localities  the  formation  is  very 
barren  of  fossils ;  often  in  good  ex[)08urcs  nothing  being  discoverable  but 
obscure  impressions  of  sea-weeds,  which  are  thickly  spread  over  the  surface 
of  the  layers,  and  doubtless  furnished  the  greater  part  of  the  carbonaceous 
mutter. 

In  1866  Rev.  H,  Hertzer,  of  Delaware,  Ohio,  found  in  calcareous 
septaria  that  abound  near  the  base  of  the  Huron  shale  some  large  bones 
which  formed  the  nuclei  of  such  concretions.  These  were  submitted  to 
me  by  him  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Association  at  Buffalo  in  1866, 
and  I  recognized  them  as  the  plates  and  bones  of  large  Placoderm 
fisheK,  up  to  that  time  undescribed.  During  the  succeeding  year  Mr. 
Hertzer  pursued  his  search  for  these  fossils  with  great  enthusiasm  and 
success,  obtaining  nearly  the  entire  bony  structure  of  the  great  armor- 
cliid  fish  which  I  described  in  the-  first  volume  of  the  Palu'ontology  of 
Ohio  under  the  name  of  Dinicht/iys  llerizcri.  In  this  fish,  while  the  gen- 
eral structure  is  similar  to  that  of  the  other  species  of  DiniclithjiN  since 
described,  the  characteristic  and  distinguishing  feature  is  the  denticulation 
of  the  borders  of  the  maxillary  and  mandilde ;  in  the  others  these  borders 
are  sharp  edges,  that  play  on  each  other  like  the  blades  ot  shears. 


I! 


pisnEs  OF  tUe  devonian  aok. 


69 


Mr.  llortzor  hIho  found  in  tlicmi  ooncretiouH  the  honei*  of  HniuUur  indi- 
viduulH  of  DittichUii/s,  probably  a  distinct  HpocieB,  inuHnuicli  as  tlio  fonu  of 
tho  dorsal  rtliiold  is  different  and  the  nock  is  relatively  nnicli  longer  tlian  in 
J).  Jfirtzeri. 

Tn  tlie  hIuiIo  outside  the  concretions  Mr.  I  lertzer  discovered  tho  greater 
part  of  a  dorsoniedian  plate  which  api)arontly  belonged  to  a  Pterichthoid 
lish.  'i'hirt  was  about  eighteen  inches  long  by  thirteen  inches  wide,  sonie- 
wliat  six-sided  and  short  coffin-shaped;  the  exterior  surface  is  set  with  large, 
smooth  tuben-k's  which  may  bo  compared  to  split  peas.  I  have  named  this 
fish  J.spi(tirhtlii/,s,  and  have  supposed  tliat  this  was  the  central  plate  of  a  dor- 
sal carapace,  as  it  corresponds  in  form  to  that  plate  in  J'tcriclitliys,  but  is  a 
hundred  times  larger  in  area.  A  few  fragments  of  plates  bearing  this  pecul- 
iar tubercnlation  have  been  found  in  the  Huron  shale  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  but  this  seems  to  be  the  rarest  of  all  the  great  Placodernis  of  which 
the  remains  are  found  in  our  Devonian  and  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks. ^ 

No  one  has  thoroughly  explorod  the  exposures  of  the  Huron  shale  in 
Ohio  and  Kentucky,  and  yet  fragments  of  the  plates  of  iishes  have  been 
obtained  from  so  many  localities,  that  we  may  be  sure  a  rich  harvest  will 
some  time  bo  gathered  there.  In  tho  valley  of  Paint  Creek,  near  Cliillicothe, 
and  in  the  cliffs  bordering  tho  Scioto  and  the  Ohio  near  Portsmouth,  splendid 
exposures  of  this  shale  maybe  seen,  and  there  is  little  doiibt  that  fishes  nuiy 
be  found  at  all  these  h)calitios. 

In  central  Kentucky  Mr.  William  Linney  has  found  in  the  Huron  shale, 
which  forms  a  kind  of  border  to  the  blue-grass  region,  many  fragments 
of  large  fishes;  among  other  things  two  dorsoniedian  plates  much  like  those 
of  BinichtlujH,  and  quite  as  large.  Outline  sketches  of  some  of  these  have 
been  kindly  sent  to  mo  by  Mr.  Moritz  Fisher,  of  the  Kentucky  Geological 
Survey,  but  I  liave  been  unable  to  identify  them  with  any  of  the  fish 

'  Prof.  A.  vein  Kcieiien,  of  (iiittiiigon,  Lhh  obtiiiiied  from  tli«  Dovoiiiau  rockH  of  Oormimy  wliat 
Beeiim  lo  )>"  t\w  contrul  durmil  |)latH  of  miotlier  Hpccies  of  .tHpiilichlhyii,  which  he  haH  called  A.  higena,  itnil 
described  in  vol.  'M,  Abhiiiidl.  der  Kiiiii};!.  GcHell.  der  WinHcii.  zii  (iiittingen,  p.  ;!4,  pi.  3,  fig.  1.  I 
have  bad  an  opportiiiiity  of  exaiiiiiiing  thiH  Hpeciiiicn,  and  confirm  fnlly  von  Kounun'H  view  of  it.  It 
scarcely  diflcrH  from  the  jilato  diHcovored  by  Mr.  Hertzer,  except  that  tho  tubercles  are  much  Icsh  uni- 
form in  size  and  the  anterior  margin  is  produced  in  a  itind  of  point  at  the  center.  This  plate  ig  very 
strongly  arched,  while  that  obtained  at  Delaware  is  nearly  ilat;  but  this  is  doubtless  in  a  large  degree 
due  to  vertical  pressure. 


60 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


!      i 


remains  found  in  Ohio,  and  I  suspect  they  represent  a  giganti:^  Placoderm 
as  yet  undescribed. 

At  Delaware,  Ohio,  Mr.  Ilertzer  found  in  a  bed  of  calcareous  clay,  lying 
in>.niediately  below  the  Huron  shale,  a  number  of  small  concretions,  each  of 
which  has  the  jaw,  plate,  or  tooth  of  a  iish  as  its  nucleus.  The  most  com- 
plete of  these  I  have  described  under  the  name  of  Callognathus  rcfjularii.  In 
the  black  shale  above  he  obtained  a  half  dozen  small  crushing  teeth  of  an 
otherivise  unknown  fish,  which  I  have  called  Goniodua  Ilertzcri. 

In  the  Portage,  Genesee,  and  Marcellus  bituminous  shales  of  western 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  a  number  of  fish  remains  have  bec.i  found  at 
different  times,  but  no  one  has  systematically  worked  this  field,  although 
much  new  material  is  sure  to  be  some  time  obtai  led  from  it. 

In  1884  Mr.  E.  N.  S.  Ringueberg  described-  a  dorsomedian  plate  of  a 
fish  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Dinichthys  minor ;  this  name,  as  I  have 
remarked  elsewhere,  was  preoccupied,  and  I  have  renamed  it  D.  Ringucheryi. 
This  was  obtained  from  the  black  shale  of  the  Portage  group,  a*^  Sturgeon 
Point,  on  the  lake  shore,  twenty  miles  west  of  BufRilo. 

Prof.  J.  M.  Clarke,  in  1885,  described^  the  mandible  of  a  species  of 
Dinichtliya  to  wiiich  he  has  given  the  name  of  D.  Ncwhcrryi;  this  was  from 
the  Genesee  shale  and  from  the  Naples  beds.  From  the  rame  formation 
Professor  Clarke  also  describes  (1)  under  the  name  of  Palcconisrus  Devotiictus 
the  scales  and  cranial  plates  of  a  Paleoniscoid  fish ;  (2)  a  mass  of  minute 
quadrangular  scales  or  dermal  tubercles  which  he  calls  Aca.itliodes  pristis  ; 
and  (3)  a  port  on  of  a  dorsal  spine  with  a  sinsrle  row  of  large  denticle." 
named  by  him  Pristacanthus  vetustus.  More  material  will  be  re(piired  to 
verify  Professor  Clarke's  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  generic  relations  of  the 
last-mentioned  fishes.  No  Acanthodians  have  been  found  elsewhere  in  a 
true  marine  sediment;  those  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Canada  naving  all 
been  obtained  from  what  are  apparently  fresh- water  deposits,  anu  the  sha- 
green of  sharks,  undistinguishable  from  the  scales  of  Acanthodians,  occurs 
in  irregular  masses  in  many  formations. 

In  the  bone  beds  of  the  Corniferous  limestone  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  and 
North  Vernon,  Inuiana,  detached  rhomboidal,  plain,  or  ornamented  tnbor- 

'  Am.  Jour.  8oi.,  3a  aeries,  vol.  27,  i*.  ,  p.  4V6.  « U.  ".  Geol.  Survey,  Bull.  No.  16. 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


61 


cles  are  very  common,  iitid  Mr.  Ilertzer  has  obtained  from  the  top  of  the 
Corniferous  'it  Delaware,  Ohio,  what  seems  to  be  the  decomposed  and 
sliapelesB  body  of  a  small  Elasmobranch,  covered  with  dermal  tubercles, 
which  when  detached  seemed  simply  enameled  granules,  but  where  in 
contact  are  arranged  in  rows  and  ajjpear  rhomboidal.  In  the  Maroellus 
shale  of  New  York  Mr.  C.  E.  lieecher  has  also  found  masses  of  siinihir 
tubercles  associated  with  small  furrowed  spines  which  may  have  been  borne 
by  an  Acanthodian,  but  perhaps  by  a  Selachian.' 

The  fragment  of  a  spine  called  by  Professor  Clarke  Prhtarunthus  vetustus 
is  certainly  \ei'y  unlike  anything  we  have  elsewhere  found  in  our  Paleo- 
zoic strata,  and  resembles  the  spines  obtained  by  Agassiz  from  the  Jurassic 
rocks,  and  called  by  him  Prhitacantlim  securis ;  but  I  would  call  attention 
to  the  spine  described  by  Giebel,  figured  by  Kayser^and  named  Ctena- 
cantkus  ahnonnis.  This  si^ine  has  the  shaft  longitudinally  striated,  and  on 
the  posterior  margin  bears  a  flange  set  with  a  single  row  of  large  denticles. 
Henf  e  it  does  not  belong  to  the  genus  Ctcnacauthus,  in  which  the  longitudi- 
nal ridges  are  always  pectinated  or  tubercled  and  the  posterior  margin  is 
flattened  or  furrowed  and  is  set  with  two  rows  of  denticles.  Giebel's  spec- 
imen is  also  certainly  distinct  from  Agassiz's  Pristacanthus,  but  if  the  flange 
were  broken  off  and  alone  preserved  it  might  be  readily  mistaken  for  it. 
Only  a  fragment  of  th(3  posterior  portion  of  the  spine  is  shown  in  Professor 
Clarke's  specimen,  and  it  is  possible  that  this  was  attached  to  a  si  ft  some- 
what like  that  of  the  spine  obtained  by  Giebel  from  the  Devonian  rocks  of 
Germany.  In  any  caso  the  spine  described  by  Professor  Clarke  would  seem 
to  require  a  new  generic  name. 

The  late  Prof  F.  H.  Bradley  collected  from  the  Marcellus  shale  of 
New  York  a  large  number  of  the  remains  of  fishes,  principally  detached 
teeth,  which  represent  several  new  species,  but  they  are  impregnated  with 
pyrites,  are  unsatisfactory  subjects  for  study,  and  have  not  yet  been  de- 
scribed.    They  are  in  die  cabinet  of  Yalo  College. 

'  Frnm  tlin  Iteroasbnlu  at  A'^ancebiirgh,  Ky.,  I  liavo  pntclieg  of  similar  Nhaj^reen  iiHsnciated  witli  (he 
teeth  of  Orodut  nud  Cladodm,  and  with  the  spiuos  of  CUnacanthu'i  C"aln  "itology  of  Ohio,  vol,  !i,  j)l. 
f>9,  lig.  4);  also  from  the  B«>r«a  grit,  at  Dorea,  Ohio,  patches  of  Thonihi.ulal  aermal  tubercles  foiiud  in 
proximity  with  tlio  H])iiio»  of  Bevcral  Bpocies  of  Ctenaoanihua. 

^Dio  Kaiiiia  d(>r  iiltCHttni  l>i>voii-Ab1agernngen  de8  IIarze§,  Abhaudl.  geol.  Specialkarto  prouss., 
etc.,  Atlas,  pi.  1,  tig.  19 


tma^mwi^m^^Hm^ 


I 


62 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERKU. 


B 


M\ 


I 


Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh  has  a  mnnbeVof  large  fraffinents  of  Placodenn  fishes 
obtained  from  the  Huron  shale  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio;  they  apparently 
rej)resent  one  or  njore  new  species,  but  are  too  imperfect  for  satisfactory 
description. 

From  the  Moscow  shale,  Kashong  Creek,  Yates  County,  N.  Y.,  Mr.  Ber- 
lin H.  Wright  has  obtained  a  large  and  fine  spine  of  Ctcnacanthus,  which  is 
distinguished  from  all  other  described  species  of  the  genus  by  its  perfectly 
straight  form,  as  well  as  by  minor  details.  It  is  figured  and  described^  with 
the  name  of  Ct.  Wriyhti,  and  is  noticed  on  another  page  of  this  memoii*. 

In  the  Hamilton  rocks  of  Iowa,  which  are  chiefly  limestone,  a  consider- 
able number  of  fish  remains  have  been  found,  a  few  of  which  have  come 
under  my  observation.  Of  these  the  most  imj)ortant  are  two  species  of 
llhynchodm'^  apparently  distinct  from  those  found  in  Ohio,  viz,  R.  occiden- 
talls  N.  and  R.  Greeuci,  n  sp.,  which  will  be  found  characterized  in  the 
present  monograph ;  the  latter  obtained  through  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Greene,  of 
Milwaukee.  From  Mr.  Greene  I  also  have  a  fish  spine  of  a  peculiar  and 
interesting  structure,  which  1  have  made  the  type  of  a  new  genus,  Hetera- 
canthus,  of  which  a  description  will  be  found  on  another  page.  These  speci- 
mens were  found  in  the  quarries  of  hydraulic  limestone  near  Milwaukee, 
and  with  them  were  fragments  which  indicate  the  presence  of  a  varied  fish 
fauna  in  that  formation. 

From  Mr.  A.  F.  Tiffany,  of  Davenport,  Iowa,  I  have  received  a  fine 
specimen  of  I'tyctodus  calccolm,^  N.  &  W.  The  specimen  from  which  the 
species  was  originally  described  was  fvcm  the  Hamilton  beds  of  Calhoun 
County,  111.  From  the  same  horizon  in  Rock  Island  County,  111.,  I  have  a 
large  number  of  what  f  8Cin  to  be  the  teeth  of  a  distinct  species  of  Ftyctodus^ 
but  they  may  be  only  a  dwarf  form  of  the  same.  These  latter  teeth  are 
small— an  inch  in  lengtli  by  a  quarter  of  an  inch  broad — and  show  all  the 
variation  of  form  rej)resented  by  Pander's  figures.* 

The  zoological  relations  of  Ptyclodus  still  remain  uncertain,  but  there  is 
little  doubt  that  it  was  an  Elasmobranch,  and  probably  a  Chimaji'oid.     The 

"Tairty-afth  Annual  Report  New  Tork  Statu  Museum  Nat.  Hist.,  1884,  p.  200,  pi.  16,flg8. 12-14. 
"Described  iu  tlio  Aunals  of  the  Now  York  Acadfiiiy  of  Sciiwicos,  vol.  1,  p.  192. 
'First  described  iu  Geol.  Survey  oi  IllinoiH,  vol.  2,  lH6(i,  p.  106,  pi.  10,  fig.  10,  as  Binodm  caloe- 
olm;  aud  later  iu  the  Paliuontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  51),  pi.  59,  figs.  13,  13",  13''. 
♦Die  Ctmodipterinm  der  Devouischeu  System,  pi.  8. 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


63 


teeth  are  excavated  below  and  were  apparently  set  upon  a  cartiliigincus  jaw, 
as  in  Rhynchodus  and  Chtmara;  they  are  usually  of  the  shape  of  a  shoe, 
from  one  to  five  inches  long,  the  place  of  the  opening  in  a  shoe  filled  with 
an  enameled,  transversely  ridged,  triturating  surface.  In  some  teeth  this 
enamel  portion  is  raised,  in  others  depressed,  as  though  one  fitted  into  the 
other.  The  motion  of  the  jaws  must  have  been  forward  and  back,  and  the 
grinding  apparatus  is  as  complete  as  that  possessed  by  the  elephant.  None 
of  the  teeth  of  Ptydodus  seem  to  have  been  found  in  Germany,  England,  or 
the  eastern  United  States ;  but  in  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Russia,  Iowa,  and 
Illinois  they  are  quite  numerous. 

The  Devonian  fishes  of  Canada  have  been  already  alluded  to.  Many 
years  ago  spines  of  Machicracanthus  sulcatiis  were  sent  to  me  for  examina- 
tion by  Sir  William  Dawson,  and  I  have  since  received  them  from  several 
localities. 

From  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Gaspd  a  species  of  Cephalaspis  was  ob- 
tained some  years  since  by  Sir  William  Dawson,  and  was  named  by  ^Ir. 
Ray  Lankester  C.  Dawsoni. 

In  1880  Mr.  A.  H.  Foord,  o(  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  col- 
lected from  the  Devonian  rocks  on  the  shore  of  Scaunienac  Bay,  Province 
of  Quebec,  a  large  number  of  very  interesting  fossil  fishes,  which  were  sub- 
sequently described  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Whitf^-ives.'  These  include  PtericJUhys, 
Dipheantlms,  Phaneropleuron,  Olyptolcpis  (tw(  species),  Chclrolepis,  and  a 
new  genus  described  by  IVfr.  Whiteaves  under  the  name  of  l£usthenopteion, 
so  named  from  its  strong  fin  rays. 

Previwus  to  this  discovery  no  species  oi  PtericJithys,  Cheirolepis,  Phanc- 
ropleuron  or  Glyptolepis  had  been  found  in  North  America,  and  in  an  earlier 
review*  of  the  fossil  fishes  of  this  country  I  noted  "the  absence  from  all 
our  collections  of  many  of  the  most  abundant  and  best-known  genera  of 
the  Scotch  and  English  Old  Red  Sandstone  fishes."  On  the  other  hand,  I 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  up  to  that  time  (1873)  all  the  most  impor- 
tant iciithyolites  of  our  American  Devonian  were  unknown  in  Europe ;  ac- 
counting for  the  difference  between  the  Devonian  fishes  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  Atlantic  by  saying  that  our  fishes  were  mosfly  obtained  from  the  Cor- 


iCvnndtua  NatnralUt,  vol.  10,  p.  U3. 


'Paleontology  of  Ohio,  Tol.  1,  p.  873. 


64 


I'ALKOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEKIOA. 


m' 


niferous  limestone,  plainly  a  marine  and  relatively  deep-water  sediment, 
while  the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  which  had  furnished  most  of  the  fossils  found 
abroad,  was  probably  a  lake  deposit.  The  fifteen  years  which  have  elapsed 
since  the  publication  of  my  former  review  have  confirmed  the  conclusion 
then  reached,  but  have  couipolled  me  to  modify  some  of  my  statements  of 
act;  for  not  only  has  a  fresh-water  fish  fauna  been  discovered  in  Canada 
which  closely  resembles  that  of  the  foreign  Old  Red  Sandstone,  but  in  the 
marine  limestone  of  Germany  I)hiichthi/s,  AspidicJitJii/s,  Macropctalkhthys 
and  3Iach('racanthus  have  now  been  obtained,  so  that  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  European  and  American  Devonian  fish  faimas  has  ceased  to  exist 
by  the  discovery  in  each  country  of  similar  fossils  in  similar  deposits. 

DiNiCHTMYS  Hkutzkri,  Newb. 

riate  XXXII,  Fig.  2. 

DinichthyH  Ilertzeri,  Newb.,  Palaeontology  of  Oliio,  vol.  1,  p.  316,  pis.  30-37. 

In  the  first  and  second  volunio^i  of  the  Paheontology  of  Ohio  the  two 
largest  and  first-found  species  of  Dinichthys  are  so  fully  illustrated,  that  they 
reijuire  no  detailed  description  here.  Of  Dinkhthys  Ilertzeri,  from  the  Huron 
shale,  we  have  no  more  new  material.  The  Rev.  II.  Hertzer,  who  first  dis- 
covered the  species  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and  who  cultivated  that  field  with 
so  much  enthusiasm  and  success,  changed  his  residence,  and  the  exposures 
of  the  Huron  shale  in  central  Ohio  have  been  of  late  neglected.  On  the 
Huron  River,  in  Erie  County,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Scioto  and  many 
of  its  tributaries  in  southern  Ohio,  the  formation  is  very  extensively  opened, 
and  we  have  proof  that  it  everywhere  contains  calcareous  concretions  within 
which  are  bones,  but  no  one  has  been  favorably  located  for  collecting  in 
these  districts. 

There  are  some  important  points  in  the  anatomy  of  this  species  of  Di- 
nkhthys of  which  we  are  still  ignorant.  The  head,  with  its  complete  denti- 
tion and  the  dorsomedian  plate,  we  hav3,  but  the  defenses  of  the  under  side 
of  the  body  have  never  been  clearly  made  out.  I  have  seen  in  some  of  the 
concretions  broken  open  by  Mr.  Ilertzer  at  Delaware  traces  of  a  plate 
nearly  two  feet  in  diameter,  which  does  not  correspond  to  anything  known 


■# 


FISHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


65 


in  the  defensive  armor  of  /;.  Terrcm,  and  I  luive  suspected  that,  like  Tita- 
mchthys,  the  body  was  perhaps  protected  belo\y  by  ^  si„„ie  great  sliield.     I 
have  also  a  plate  of  D.  Hcrtzerl,  which,  though  incomplete,  is  triangular  in 
outline,  nearly  three  feet  long  and  a  foot  wide  at  the  broader  end.     This 
probably  constituted  the  protection  of  the  side  of  the  body,  but  uothino- 
just  like  it  has  been  found  in  connection  with  the  species  oi  Diniddhys  from 
the  Cleveland  shale.     These  suggested  rather  than  demonstrated  differences 
of  anatomical  structure  have  led  me  to  think  that,  when  all  the  plates  and 
bones  of  I).  Hertzen  shall  have  been  found,  they  will  show  divergencies  from 
D.  Terrelh  which  will  perhaps  be  thought  to  have  generic  value.     This 
question,  however,  cannot  be  decided  at  present,  and  will  perhaps  remain 
for  the  consideration  and  decision  of  palaeontologists  of  another  generation 
I  have  elsewhere  referred  to  the  discovery  of  the  dorsomedian  plates  of  a 
large  Placoderm  in  the  Huron  shale  of  Kentucky,  and  also  to  the  discovery 
.n  the  same  formation  at  Louisville  of  large  fragments  of  bone  which  have 
not  yet  been  classified      It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  southern  extension 
of  the  Huron  shale  offers  a  field  for  future  exploration  from  which  much  is 
to  be  hoped,  particularly  for  the  complete  elucidation  of  the  structure  of 
Dimchthys  and  AsjmUchthys. 

HETERACANTHUS,  nov.  gen. 

_  Pectoral  (?)  spines  eight  inches  or  more  in  length,  robust,  with  a  pos- 
tenor  opening  reachiMg  to  or  near  the  summit;  base  compressed,  one  and  a 
half  mches  wide,  obliquely  rounded  below,  shaft  curved  forward,  regularly 
arched  transversely,  covered  with  highly  polished  enamel,  and  marked  by 
fine  denticulate  longitudinal  sutures,  which  divide  the  surfixce  into  broad 
nearly  equal  bands  or  flattened  ridges.  The  sutures  are  most  numerous 
below,  but  terminate  in  succession  above,  so  that  few  reach  the  conical 
pointed  summit. 

These  spines  are  quite  unlike  any  heretofore  found  in  our  Paleozoic 
rocks  Ihey  will  be  recognized  at  once  by  their  want  of  symmetry,  re- 
versed curve,  smooth  and  polished  surface,  and  sinuous  or  denticulate  longi- 
tudinal  sutures.  ° 

MON  XVI 5 


66 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOETH  AMERICA. 


ill 


11  i     1 


li;, 
1*1  . 


Up  to  the  present  time  no  teeth  have  been  found  associated  with  these 
spines,  except  those  of  lihynchoihis,  and  we  may  suspect  that  they  belong 
together.  If  this  were  true,  it  wouhl  be  strange  that  no  simihir  spines  liave 
been  found  with  the  very  numerous  teeth  of  Bhynchodiis  in  the  Cornifer- 
ous  limestone  of  Ohio. 

HeTERACANTHUS    POLITITS,   n.   sp. 
Plate  XXI,  Figs.  4,  5. 

Spine  eight  to  ten  inches  long,  comprossod  laterally  at  base,  which  is 
obliquely  rounded  below;  summit  curved  forward,  conical,  with  a  subtri- 
angular  section.  Anterior  margin  uniformly  arched,  sides  flattened  toward 
the  base,  lower  two-thirds  of  posterior  face  open;  upper  third  flattened; 
sides  of  unequal  breadth,  making  tlie  spine  unsynnnetrical. 

The  want  of  symmetry  of  those  spines  as  well  as  their  reversed  curve 
renders  it  almost  certain  tiuit  they  are  the  defenses  of  the  pectoral  fins 
They  resemble  in  these  characters  Phi/sonnims,  but  are  without  tubercles  of 
any  kind,  and  have  in  the  minutely  sinuous  sutures  a  character  so  peculiar, 
that  I  have  given  it  generic  value. 

Formation  and  locality :  Cement  beds  of  Hamilton  age,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Collected  by  Thomas  A,  Greene. 

Ctenacanthus  Wrighti,  Newb. 

Plate  XXVI,  Figs.  4-4». 

Ctenacanthus  Wrighti,  Newb.,  Tliirfy  fifth  Kept.  N.  Y.  State  Museum,  1884,  p.  206,  pi, 

16,  fig.  12-14. 

Spine  of  large  size,  long-triangular  in  outline;  anterior  margin  straight, 
laterally  compressed;  medullary  cavity  large,  open  posteriorly  to  the  middle 
of  the  spine;  posterior  surface  traversed  above  by  a  strong  rounded  ridge; 
denticles  small;  surface  of  exposed  portion  entirely  covered  with  closely 
pectinated  ridges  of  nearly  uniform  width  on  the  front  and  sides,  becoming 
narrower  and  less  distinctly  pectinated  near  the  posterior  margin. 

The  spines  of  this  species  are  very  striking  in  their  characters  as  regards 
both  form  and  markings.  The  anterior  margin  seems  to  have  been  abso- 
lutely straight  from  base  to  summit.     Along  the  line  of  junction  between 


riSHES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


67 


tlio  enameled  and  buried  portions  tlie  spine  must  have  been  two  inches  wide, 

but  it  tapered  rapidly  upward,  terminating  in  a  slender  acute  point.     The 

exposed  surface  is  more  completely  covered  with  ridges  similar  in  character, 

and  the  pectination  is  more  crowded  than  in  any  other  species  known  to 

me.     In  its  broad  base  and  its  general  and  uniform  ornamentation  this  spine 

hi)8  some  resemblance  to  C.  speciosus,  St.  J.  &  W.,  specimens  of  which  have 

been  in  my  hands,  but  the  line  of  demarkation  between  the  ornamented  and 

buried  portions  is  less  oblique,  showing  that  the  spine  was  more  erect;  the 

ridges  are  considerably  coarser  and  the  form  is  straighten     The  pectination 

Is  also  less  oblique  and  closer,  compared  with  the  coarseness  of  the  ridges. 

Formation  and  locality:  Hamilton  group,  near  the  middle  of  the  Moscow 

shale;  Kashong  Creek,  Yates  County,  N.  Y.,  where  it  was  obtained  by  Mr. 

Berlin  H.  Wright,  for  whom  it  is  named. 

GONIODUS,  nov.  gen. 

Teeth  numerous,  composing  a  roughened  pavement,  small,  variable  in 
size  and  form ;  generally  subtriangular  in  outline,  depressed,  with  the  central 
portion  elevated  into  an  obtuse  angular  ridge  of  denser  tissue,  and  having 
a  polished  surface;  other  portions  of  the  crown  and  the  lateral  margins 
roughened  by  a  vermicular  pitted  or  corrugated  marking;  the  lower  surface 
rough  and  bone-like. 

We  have  in  these  teeth  another  of  the  many  phases  of  the  dentition  of 
the  fishes  of  which  the  food  consisted  of  crustaceans  or  mollusks  with  more 
or  less  resistant  shells.  Undoubtedly  a  large  number  of  ancient  as  well  as 
modern  fishes  were  vegetable  feeders,  and  it  is  po.ssible  that  some  of  what 
are  called  crushing  teeth  may  have  been  employed  for  triturating  vegetable 
tissues;  but  the  sea-weeds,  which  must  have  composed  the  food  of  herbiv- 
orous fishes,  were  soft  and  succulent  in  character,  and  no  more  powerful 
organs  were  required  for  the  management  of  this  kind  of  material  than  such 
as  would  suffice  to  tear  off  fragments  of  the  tender  fronds,  and  these  like 
the  other  food  of  fishes,  must  have  been  swallowed  witliout  mastication 
Nor  are  we  to  suppose  that  the  powerful  pavement  teeth  of  the  ancient 
carnivorous  fishes  were  ever  u.sed  to  masticato  food  after  the  manner  in 


68 


PALEOZOIC  FISDES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


which  It  is  done  by  the  higlier  aiiimal,  but  where  that  food  consisted  of 
molhisks  or  crustaceans  inclosed  in  shells  it  was  necessary  that  these  shells 
should  be  crushed,  and  the  fragments,  perhaps  in  part  rejected,  in  part 
reduced  to  such  size  that  thoy  could  be  conveniently  and  harmlessly  swal- 
lowed. All  the  marine  living  fishes  which  have  pavement  teeth  are  sup- 
posed to  be  carnivorous,  and  in  many  of  the  fossil  fish  teeth  we  find  evi- 
dences of  much  local  wear,  showing  that  mollusks  with  somewhat  strong 
shells  were  brought  to  the  point  where  they  could  be  operated  upon  with 
the  greatest  mechanical  advantage,  and  were  there  crushed,  as  nuts  are 
cracked  by  pigs  and  other  animals  We  find,  too,  many  devices  for  holding 
in  position  the  object  to  be  crushed.  Generally  the  individual  teeth  are 
blunt-pointed,  projecting  above  the  surface  in  such  a  way  as  to  retain  the  food 
in  place.  In  the  dentition  composed  of  flatter  and  smoother  teeth,  as  in 
Psammo(h(s,  Ddtodiis,  etc.,  the  same  olyect  is  less  perfectly  accomplished  by 
a  peculiar  roughening  of  the  surface  by  small  pores;  while  in  Archccobatis, 
as  in  the  modern  Ithi/ncobatus,  the  surface  of  the  teeth  is  roughened  by  a 
beautiful  transverse  corrugation.  From  these  essentially  flat  teeth  the  first 
departure  is  made  in  the  teeth  with  arched  or  ridged  surfaces  of  Triffonodiis, 
Deltod  '.s,  Sandalodus,  etc.,  with  wliich  those  now  described  should  probably 
be  grouped  as  having  similar  forms  and  functions.  Next  come  Helodus, 
Choniatodus,  and  Orodiis  with  teeth  which  are  still  blunt,  but  have  points 
or  ridges  projecting  sufficiently  from  the  general  surface  to  afibrd  a  firm 
hold  of  softer  and  more  slippery  substances.  From  these  blunt-pointed 
and  ridged  teeth  the  transition  is  easy  to  the  sharp-pointed  piercing  teeth 
of  Cladodiis,  Hyhodus,  and  Lanina,  admirably  adapted  to  catching  and  hold- 
ing the  most  slippery  and  evasive  prey;  or  to  Chomatodus  and  the  blunt 
species  oi  PoJyrhizodus,  of  which  the  teeth  in  form  and  function  resemble  those 
of  the  Rays;  thence  on  to  the  teeth  of  the  Pdalodonts,  which,  witli  the 
increasing  sharpness  and  elevation  of  their  cutting  edges,  lead  to  the  terri- 
ble, sen-ated,  lance-pointed  blades  of  Carcharodon. 

The  affinities  of  Goniodus  can  at  present  hardly  be  conjectured.  Some 
of  the  smaller  teeth  of  Ptyctodus,  so  common  in  the  Hamilton  rocks  of  Iowa, 
exhibit  considerable  resemblance  to  these ;  but  all  the  teeth  of  Ptyctodus 
show  something  of  the  peculiar  transverse  striation  of  the  flattened  crown 


f 


PISUES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


69 


which  constitutes  the  distinctive  character  of  the  genus,  and  which  lias  so 
much  resemblance— if  we  may  compare  small  things  with  great— to  the 
triturating  surface  of  the  crown  of  a  molar  of  Elephas.  The  general  form 
of  the  teeth  of  Vtyctoilus  makes  it  probable  that  this  was  a  Chima^roid  fish, 
but  the  teeth  of  Goniodm  indicate  no  such  relationship,  and  the  larger  ones, 
both  by  their  form  and  the  character  of  the  lateral  surface,  rather  suggest 
PaicUodus.  Probably  aoniochi.s  was  an  P^lasmobranch  and  a  Cestracionrbut 
of  this  we  cannot  be  certain  until  more  material  shall  have  been  gathered. 

The  type,  up  to  the  present  time  the  only  known  species,  is  that  de- 
scribed below. 

GomoDus  Hehtzeri,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXV  II,  Figs.  11-15. 

Teeth  small  and  varied  in  form,  triangular  or  oblong  in  outline,  de- 
pressed, with  more  or  less  of  the  central  portion  raised  into  a  simple,  smooth, 
obtuse-angled  ridge;  other  portions  of  the  surface  punctate  or  vernacularly 
roughened;  under  surface  flattened,  somewhat  rough  and  bony. 

No  full  descrii)tion  of  the  dentition  of  Goniodus  can  yet  be  given,  for 
only  a  small  portion  of  the  large  number  of  pavement  teeth,  with  which 
each  jaw  was  furnished,  have  yet  been  obtained.  The«e  are,  however, 
quite  sufficient  to  show  that  they  represent  a  new  genus  and  species,  inter- 
esting alike  from  its  structure  and  from  its  geological  position,  which  has 
hitherto  furnished  no  other  fish  teeth  at  all  like  them. 

Formation  and  locality:  Huron  shale;  Delaware,  Ohio.  Collected  b)- 
Rev.  H.  Hertzer,  to  whom  it  is  dedicated. 

CALLOGNATHUS,  nov.  gen. 

Small  fishes,  of  which  only  the  mandibles  are  known.  These  are  from 
one  to  three  inches  in  length;  the  posterior  end  of  the  dentary  bone  flat, 
thin,  spatulate,  smooth;  the  anterior  half  narrower,  thicker,  and  ornamented; 
the  upper  edge  closely  set  with  numerous  subequal,  conical,  obtuse,  blunt- 
ponited  teeth. 

But  little  can  be  said  in  regard  to  the  affinities  of  these  fishes  until  more 
of  their  structure  shall  be  known.     The  form  of  the  mandible  is  essentially 


70 


PALEOZOK-  ^<USI1ES  OF  NOllTII  AMERICA. 


like  that  oi  Dinkhthjis  and  other  members  of  the  same  family,  viz,  the  pos- 
terior end  is  spatulate  and  smooth,  and  was  once  buried  in  cartilage ;  the 
anterior  end,  ornamented  and  bearing  teeth,  was  evidently  exposed. 

Callognathus  hkgulahis,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  Fig.  18. 

Dentary  bones  one  to  one  and  a  half  inches  long,  nearly  straight, 
slightly  curved  upward  at  the  anterior  extremity,  which  is  obli(piely  rounded; 
posterior  end  broader,  thin,  smooth,  rounded,  spatulate,  as  in  all  the  Di- 
niohthida^;  upper  margin  of  dentary  bone  set  with  closely  approximated, 
cylindrical,  blunt-pointed  teeth. 

Only  two  of  these  little  jaws  and  no  other  portion  of  the  fishes  which 
bore  them  have  yet  been  found.  These  are,  however,  so  clearly  defined, 
and  so  distinct  from  any  other  fish  jaws  known,  that  it  ,  seemed  best  to 
describe  and  name  them.  Their  most  obvious  character  consists  in  the  very 
regular  and  uniform  row  of  teeth  with  which  the  upper  margin  of  the  den- 
tary bone  is  set.  I  know  of  no  other  fish  jaws  which  have  teeth  so  uniform 
in  size  and  so  closely  set. 

Formation  and  locality:  Huron  shale;  Delaware,  Ohio.  Collected  by- 
Rev.  H.  liertzer. 

Callognathus  sebratus,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  16,  17. 

Dentary  bone  two  inches  in  length,  posterior  half  spatulate,  anterior 
half  long-triangular  in  outline;  anterior  end  rounded,  upper  margin  nearly 
straight,  and  bearing  about  twenty  closely  approximated,  compressed,  coni- 
cal, lancet-shaped  teeth,  inclined  backward,  and  increasing  in  size  from  front 
to  rear;  exposed  surface  of  mandible  ornamented  with  irregular  longitudinal 
raised  lines  of  enamel. 

I  have  somewhat  doubtfully  associated  the  little  jaw  described  above 
with  those  found  by  Mr.  Hertz  in  the  Huron  shale  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and 
future  discoveries  may  show  that  they  should  be  referred  to  different  genera. 
The  dentary  bones  have  approximately  the  same  form  and  ornamentation, 
the  upper  margin  of  the  anterior  half  in  both  is  set  with  teeth,  which  are 


PISDES  OP  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


71 


remarkable  for  i]mv  clopo  proximity  and  regularity,  hut  the  jaws  from  Del- 
aware are  much  sinaller  aud  the  teeth  are  apparently  less  acute.  They  are 
evidently  closely  allied,  if  not  generically  identical. 

In  both  the  Huron  and  the  Cleveland  shales  we  occasionally  find,  scat- 
tered or  in  coprolites,  rhoniboidal  polished  scales  similar  to  those  of  some 
species  of  Pahconiwus,  and  I  have  supposed  it  probable  that  they  belonged 
to  precursors  of  the  Paleoniscidaj  so  abundant  in  the  overlying  locks. 

These  little  jaws  may  naturally  bo  supposed  to  have  appertained  to 
the  same  fishes  witli  the  scales,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  fishes  which  carried 
the  jaws  could  not  have  been  Paleonisclds,  since  the  form  is  that  which 
prevails  among  all  the  larger  fishes  of  the  group  of  Dinichthida-,  namely, 
the  posterior  half  spatulate,  smooth,  evidently  once  buried  in  integument 
and  sheathed  by  cartilage;  the  exposed  portion  thicker,  denser,  ornamented, 
and  carrying  along  the  upper  margin  a  single  row  of  nearly  equal  teeth, 
developed  from  the  condensed  jaw-tissue. 

In  the  Pala3oniscida2,  on  the  contrary,  the  dentary  bone  is  relatively 
much  longer,  is  spliced  on  to  the  angular  and  articular  portions  of  the  man- 
dible, and  carries  several  rows  of  acute,  conical  teeth  of  unequal  sizes. 
But  more  material  will  be  required  before  anything  positive  can  be  said  in 
reference  to  the  fislies  which  bore  the  jnws  I  have  called  (Mloynuthm. 

Formation  and  locality:  Cleveland  siiale;  Lorain  County,  Ohio.  Col- 
lected by  Mr.  J.  Terrell. 

Onychodus  Ortoni,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XIX,  Pig.  1,  i\ 

Intermandibular  bone  one  and  a  half  inches  long  by  one-half  an  inch  in 
width  and  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness ;  long-ovoid  in  section,  broad- 
est above,  regularly  arched  in  outline ;  its  superior  surface  set  with  six 
equally  spaced,  recurved,  acute,  enameled  teeth,  implanted  in  the  hone  along 
the  median  line ;  these  teeth  are  about  equal  in  size,  being  one  inch  in 
length  from  point  of  insertion ;  the  surface  enameled  and  highly  polished ; 
section  slightly  compressed  laterally;  anterior  margin  rounded  ;  sides  flat- 
tened, and  marked  with  three  longitudinal  planes,  giving  a  somewhat  angu- 
lar section ;  the  acute  apex  is  turned  forward. 


1!^ 


iii ' 


I 


1 1 


72 


PALKOZOKJ  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMRRICA. 


Only  tlio  intoruiuiidilxilar  bone  of  tliia  fiHli  Iuih  yot  been  found.  In 
size  and  gonoml  aspect  this  arch  with  its  row  of  toeth  reseniblos  the  corre- 
sponding organ  in  Onychodun  llopkbm  of  tho  (Jhiunnng,  but  may  be  dis 
tinguishod  from  that  at  a  glance  by  the  very  different  manner  in  whicli  tho 
tooth  are  attached  to  tho  bony  ■:cc\\.  In  0.  .sir/moidci  and  O.  Ilopklnsi  the 
teeth  of  tho  intermandibn.l;'.:'  crest  are  expanded  at  tho  base  with  root  like 
projections  on  either  side,  which  clasp  th(5  summit  of  tho  arched  bono  as  a 
saddle  the  back  of  a  horse.  As  their  attaclnnont  was  oidy  ligamentous,  they 
were  deciduous,  like  tho  teeth  of  Sharks,  and  are  very  fro(|uently  mot  with 
detached  from  their  bony  support  and  scattered  over  the  sea  bottom.  In 
the  present  species,  however,  the  mode  of  attachment  is  very  different,  for 
they  are  implanted  in  the  substance  of  the  arch  which  sustains  them  as  a 
post  is  planted  in  tho  ground.  Tho  mandibular  and  maxillary  teeth  of  tho 
other  species  of  the  genus  are  inserted  in  the  substance  of  the  jaw,  and  it 
has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  find  the  nuich  larger  teeth  of  the  intor- 
mandibular  crest  less  firmly  attached.  From  this  circumstance  I  have  sus- 
pected that  the  teeth  of  this  median  row  might  be  erectile,  like  some  of  the 
teeth  of  Lojtliius.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  in  the  species  now  under 
consideration  the  teeth  were  much  more  firmly  set,  and  must  break  rather, 
than  bend  before  a  too-powerful  opposing  force.  In  the  specimen  before 
us  this  accident  has  happened,  since  one  of  the  central  teetii  was  broken  off 
at  about  its  middle  before  fossilization. 

The  specimen  on  which  this  description  is  based,  and  the  only  one 
known,  was  obtained  by  Prof.  Edward  Orton,  from  the  Huron  siialo.  Perry 
Township,  Franklin  County,  Ohio.  In  age  this  deposit  is  intermediate  be- 
tween the  Corniferous  limestone  below  and  tho  Chemung  rocks  above,  in 
which  Oiii/chodus  sigmoides  and  0.  Hopkinsi  re8i)ectively  occur ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  profiont  species,  intermediate  in  time  between  tho  others, 
should  be  so  radically  different  in  structure. 

Genus  ASPIDICITTFIYS,  Newb. 

A  Placoderm  fish  of  large  size,  having  a  carapace  composed  of  massive 
bony  plates,  of  which  the  middle  one  of  the  back  is  similar  in  form  to  that 
of  Pterichfhijs,  but  many  times  larger,  and  is  covered  with  large,  hemi- 
spherical, smooth,  enameled  tubercles. 


riHUES  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 


78 


Up  to  the  presont  time  one  nearly  entire  dorHoruedian  plate  un<l  a  few 
fmgnientH  of  otUm-n  are  all  that  we  have  ol.taine<l  of  this  fiHh.  When  other 
portioim  of  the  plate  armor  hIuiU  be  found  they  will  proi)ably  be  seen  to 
correHpond  most  nearly  with  those  of  I'lenrl,t/n,s.  'I'he  tuben^ulation  of  the 
Hurface  is,  however,  vciry  ditieront,  and  m  the  dernial  ornamentation  Ih  chnr- 
acteriHtie  in  these  old  (ishes,  it  is  here  undoubtedly  indicative  of  ditferences 
which  have  generic  value. 

AsPiDiciiTitys  cLAVATus,  Newb. 

Plate  XXXVIII,  Figs.  3,  4. 

A»pidichthys  clavatua,  Nowb. ;  Pala'oiitf.logy  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  323,  pi.  35,  flgg,  i,  2. 

Of  this  large  and  remarkable  fish  very  little  is  known,  ns  only  some 
portions  of  the  dorsal  plates  have  yet  been  found.  These  are,  however,  so 
peculiar  and  so  different  from  anything  else  known  to  paleontologists  that 
they  will  serve  to  identify  unmistakably  one  of  the  largest  and  most  singu- 
lar of  the  great  Placoderni  fishcj  that  iidiabited  the  Devonian  seas. 

The  most  significant  fragment  of  Aspidichthys  ^et  discovered  is  a  nearly 
entire  median  dorsal  plate  obtained  by  Mr.  Ilertzer  from  the  Huron  shale 
at  Delaware,  Ohio.  This  plate  is  an  elongated  hexagon,  or  is  of  short 
cofHn-shape,  having,  indeed,  almost  exactly  the  form  of  the  dorsomedian 
plate  of  Pterkhthys,  but  being  a  hundred  times  as  lai-ge;  for,  while  the 
largest  plate  of  Pterkhthys  is  twelve  to  eighteen  lines,  the  corresponding 
plate  (.f  Aspidkhthys  is  as  n)any  inches  in  each  diameter,  or,  more  exactly"^ 
is  thirteen  by  seventeen  inches,  and  a  portion  of  it  is  wanting.  It  is  more 
than  an  inch  in  thickness  in  the  central  portion,  and  is  keeled  below,  as  is 
the  same  plate  in  Dinkhthys  and  Ilomoskus.  The  most  striking  feature  in 
this  plate  is,  however,  its  external  ornamentation.  This  consists  of  knobs 
or  bosses  of  smooth,  shining  enamel,  of  the  size  and  forni  of  split  peas. 

In  its  general  aspect  this  tuberculation  resembles  that  of  Pterkhthys 
and  Coccosteus,  but  differs  strikingly  in  this,  that  the  tubercles  are  perfectly 
smooth  and  polished,  and  show  little  of  the  stellate  ornamentation  which  is 
to  be  seen  on  the  plates  of  nearly  all  the  great  mailed  fishes  of  the  Old 
World.    This  character  has  doubtless  generic  value,  but  the  form  of  the 


74 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NOETH  AMERICA. 


dorsomedian  plate  is  so  nearly  that  of  the  same  plate  in  Pterkhthys  Milleri 
that  if  it  were  not  fo"  this  peculiar  tuberculation  wo  might  conclude  that 
we  had  in  this  fish  nothing  mo-3  than  a  huge  Pterkhthys. 

The  margins  of  the  plate  under  consideration  are  beveled  off  and 
straightened  in  such  a  way  as  to  prove  that  it  articulated  with  others,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  formed  part  of  a  carapace  similar  to  that 
of  Pterkhthys. 

Fig.  3  represents  the  dorsomedian  plato  of  Aspidkhthys  very  much 
reduced ;  Fig,  4  a  portion  of  the  same,  natural  size. 


I'^RT    III. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBOiNIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


75 


^M 


Is  I, 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


The  rocks  which  compose  the  Carboniferous  systenj  form  th/ee  natural 
groups,  as  follows : 

J  Permian. 
Ciial  Measures.  ' 

MillNtoue  grit. 
Middle  Carboniferous  ..     Mountain  limestone. 
I  Waverly. 

Lower  CaiboniferoHs. ..?  Catskili  (local,  fresb-water  deposit). 
'  Chemung. 

These  strata,  like  those  composing  the  other  great  circles  of  deposition, 
were  formed  bj'  the  advance,  sojourn,  and  retreat  of  the  sea,  which  loft  its 
record  in  a  mechanical  base,  an  organic  center,  and  a  mixed  sunmiit.  The 
Carboniferous  inundation  was  one  of  wide  extent  and  long  continuance,  as 
we  learn  from  the  great  thickness  of  the  organic  sediments  whi^h  accumu- 
lated slowly  over  the  bottom  of  those  portions  of  the  invading  sea  where  the 
water  was  pure  and  deep  enough  to  form  limestone.  This  calcareous  iriass 
is  in  Kentucky  1,200  to  1,600  .eet  in  thickness,  thinning  out  toward  the  old 
shore  line,  where  only  the  upper  divisions  of  the  limestonf*  are  present- 
showing  a  progressive  subsidence— and  are  fir-illy  replaced  near  the  perma- 
nent lanu  srea  by  a  great  thickness  of  land  wash,  conglomerate  sandstone, 
and  slialeii.  In  tlie  geological  histoi}^  of  the  North  American  continent  we 
find  records  of  three  of  these  gmd  inundations,  vi;;;  The  Lower  Silurian, 
in  which  the  marine  sediments  are  widely  spread  and  1,000  feet  thick;  the 
<::!arboniferous,  just  described  ;  and  the  Cretaceous,  in  which  the  limestones 
axe  of  even  greater  extent  an<'  thickness. 

Subsequent  to  the  deposition  of  the  Mountain  limestone  the  eastern 
half  of  the  continent  was  affected  by  great  physical  disturbances.     These 

77 


78 


PALEOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


i 

f 

V(  1 

1  1 

^  1 

' 

were  ushered  in  '  y  a  shallowing  of  the  sea  and  a  spreading  of  sheets  of 
sandstone  and  conglomerate— the  Millstone  grit — over  a  large  portion  of 
the  bottom  of  the  interior  basin.  These  fragnunital  strata  were  deposited 
by  violent  action  of  shore  waves  and  strong  currents,  which  in  many  placed 
deeply  eroded  or  tore  up  the  old  sea  bottom,  and  left  in  its  place  thick  beds 
of  gravel  and  cross-;  tnrtified  sand.  In  some  localities,  as  in  r  orthern  Ohio, 
the  conglomerate  contains  great  numbers  of  imperfectly  rounded  fragments 
of  the  cherty  layers  of  the  Mountain  limestone ;  showing  that  this  forma- 
tion once  existed  there  and  that  it  has  been  extensively  worn  away. 

During  the  dejjosition  of  the  Coal  Measures  there  were  great  changes 
of  level;  land,  shore,  and  deep-water  conditions  alternating  repeatedly  in 
the  same  locality.  Gradually  a  series  of  ridges  and  troughs  were  produced 
parallel  with  the  old  axis  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  in  the  irregularly  subsid- 
ing troughs  the  coal  strata — old  peat  ])eds — were  formed  at  the  water  level, 
and  successively  buried  by  subsidence  and  the  deposition  over  them  of 
gravel,  sand,  clay,  and  marl;  now  conglomerate  sandstone,  shale,  and  lime- 
stone. 

Naturally  the  life  of  the  Carboniferous  age  was  distributed  according 
to  these  differences  of  ph}  sical  conditions.  On  the  land  grew  forests  com- 
posed of  the  characteristic  vegetation  of  the  age;  in  the  lakes  and  rivers 
were  mollusks  and  fishes  adapted  to  their  places  of  residence ;  while  in  the 
sea  different  groups  ot  marine  animals  inhabited  the  shallows  and  the  deeper 
basins. 

Owing  to  the  long  continuance  of  the  Carboniferous  age  and  the  diver- 
sity of  habitat  offered  them,  the  forms  of  invertebrate  and  vertebrate  life 
buried  in  the  strata  are  exceedingly  diversified.  Among  the  fishes — which 
are  the  objects  of  the  jiresent  investigation — the  number  of  genera  and  spe- 
cies already  described  is  large,  and  yet  we  have  evidence  in  the  constant 
additions  making  to  the  list  that  our  knowledge  of  the  fish  fauna  is  yet  vc  y 
imperfect.  Wo  have  learned  enough,  however,  to  be  warranted  in  saying, 
(1)  that  fishes  were  much  more  numerous  and  varied  in  this  than  in  the 
preceding  age,  though  that  is  called  the  age  of  fishes;  (2)  that  the  Elasmo- 
branchs  were  far  more  numerous  and  powerful  than  ia  tlie  Devonian  sea; 
(3)  that  the  Ganoids  and  Placoderms  had  been  largely  superseded  by  the 


^^'Sii- 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM, 


79 


Sharks,  and  were,  for  the  most  part,  driven  to  the  shores  and  bodies  of  fresh 
water. 

The  influences  which  produced  the  great  revolution  in  the  fish  fauna 
between  the  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  ages  are  unknown  to  us,  and  will 
perhaps  always  remain  so.  If  the  interval  was  a  Ions-  one,  we  can  ima'«-in3 
that  the  ciianges  took  place  in  the  sea  basins,  whose  sediments  are  beyond 
our  reach,  and  in  the  natural  way  of  spontaneous  variation,  and  the  survival 
of  the  fittest ;  but  here  as  elsewhere  in  geological  history  we  must  wonder  at 
the  absence  of  tranhltional  forms.  During  the  deposition  of  tlie  great  mass 
of  the  Mountain  limestone,  where  it  is  at  least  1,200  feet  in  thickness,  there 
was  a  change  of  fauna  that  has  led  geologists  to  divide  the  mass  into  four 
groups:  the  Burlington,  Keokuk,  St.  Louis,  and  Chester  beds:  which,  with 
much  in  common,  have  each  certain  fossils  peculia.'  to  itself  But  we  do 
not  find  what  we  should  naturally  expect,  that  these  differences  are  the 
results  of  gi-adual  modifications  of  the  earlier  into  the  later  species.  Con- 
necting links  are  wanting,  and  the  changes  of  fauna  seem  to  have  been  pro- 
duced by  importation  rather  than  modification.  Wiiere,  as  in  Kentucky, 
this  great  mass  of  organic  debris  has  been  produced  by  the  gTowth,  death, 
and  disintegration  of  successive  generations  inhabiting  the  sea  at  the  same 
place,  it  would  seem  inevitable  that  we  should  find  abundant  evidence  of 
the  transformation  of  the  older  species  into  the  later.  But  little  or  nothing 
of  tliis  kind  has  been  discovered.  Certain  species  run  through  the  entire 
mass  with  little  perceptible  change,  while  others  are  added  as  though  by 
importation.  This  is  a  problem  which  will  undoubtedly  occupy  paleontol- 
ogists for  ages  to  come,  and  with  more  abundant  material  its  solution  may 
be  mpde  clear  to  all.     At  present  it  is  beyond  our  reach. 

One  striking  peculiarity  of  the  Elasmobranch  fishes  of  the  Carbonife- 
rous age  is,  that  so  many  of  them  were  provided  with  defensive  spines  It 
it  true  that  this  feature  was  not  confined  to  the  Carboniferous  Sharks,  for 
the  spines  of  Machwracamlms  in  the  Devonian,  and  those  of  Hyhodus  in  the 
Jurassic,  are  perhaps  as  formidable  as  any  others;  but  tlie  defensive  spines 
found  in  the  Carboniferous  rocks  outnumber  ten  to  one  those  of  all  the 
other  geological  systems,  and  they  surpass  in  very  much  greater  proportion 
anything  we  find  in  the  living  fauna.     Sharks  are  very  numerous  and  foi  .A-  . 


,1^ 


80 


rALi<:ozoic  fishes  of  north  America. 


m 


I 

t     I: 


it 


(lable  in  our  present  seas;  and  in  the  "^Pertiary  the  great  Carcharodon  mcgnl- 
odoii  was  perliaus  tlie  most  terrible  of  all  the  (carnivorous  inhabitants  of  the 
sea,  yet  it  was  ajjparently  uuarnied,  except  by  the  huge  lancet-sha[)e(l  teeth, 
as  large  as  one's  hand,  with  which  its  cavernous  mouth  was  thickly  set. 
Like  nearly  all  Sharks  of  modern  date,  it  was  without  defensive  fin-sj)ines, 
while  in  the  Carboniferous  seas  hundreds  of  species  bore  these  defenses, 
which  show  an  almost  infinite  series  of  modilications  for  securing  great 
effectiveness.  Even  in  the  Upjier  Silurian  the  first  of  the  Sharks,  Onchus, 
seems  to  have  been  ])rovided  with  these  organs,  and  in  the  Devonian  and 
Carboniferous  ages  the  fashion  was  adopted  by  many  other  fishes ;  the 
Acantliodians,  for  example,  bristled  with  spines,  and  from  this  characteristic 
have  taken  their  name.  So  the  Placoderms  sometimes  added  to  the  nega- 
tive defenses  of  their  plate  armor  pectoral  and  perhaps  dorsal  spines,  which 
must  have  assisted  in  repelling  their  enemies.       v        ^  :  '"- 

It  may  be  said  that  we  have  no  information  in  regard  to  the  number 
of  defenseless  Sharks  in  the  Carboniferous  sea,  but  If  such  Sharks  could 
leave  no  spines  as  proof  of  their  existence  they  must  have  been  provided  with 
the  other  bony  organs  of  the  Elasmobranchs — teeth  and  dernud  tubercles. 
These  we  find  .ibundantly  in  the  ancient  sediments,  but  when  we  group 
them  in  genera  and  species,  we  see  that  the  variety  of  dermal  tubercles  is 
far  surpassed  and  that  of  the  teeth  nearly  equaled  hj  the  spines.  Hence 
we  must  conclude  that  most  of  the  Paleozoic  Sharks  were  provided  with 
spines. 

In  regard  to  the  influences  which  have  operated  to  produce  the  general 
disarmament  which  we  find  recorded  in  the  life  history  of  the  Sharks  we  can 
at  least  imagine  a  solution  of  the  }irobleni.  In  my  judgment  it  is  simply 
the  supersediire  of  a  useful  device  by  one  still  more  useful;  that  is,  the 
substitution  of  attack  for  defense,  of  activity  and  intelligence  for  mere  nega- 
tive resistance,  a  change  in  the  mode  of  warfare,  and  the  disappearance  by 
disuse  and  atrophy  of  devices  which  had  become  useless  and  obsolete.  I 
have  elsewhere'  incidentalh'  referred  to  this  question,  and  have  there  used 
the  following  language,  which  I  venture  to  quote: 

-    -       'P»l»ooutology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  266.         * 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


81 


Very  few  living  Sliarks  liave  dorsal  spines,  but  their  abundance  in  some  of  the  geo- 
logical formations  seems  to  indicate  tliat  they  were  worn  by  a  majority  of  the  ancient 
iSharljs.  Tlie  Hignilicaiico  of  this  api)anMitdiH'('rence  \V(<  cannot  fully  comprehend  at 
present,  but  it  has  doubtless  an  important  zoological  meaning.  The  changes  in  the 
"habits  of  good  society,"  as  illustrated  by  our  history  during  the  last  two  centuriest 
may  perhaps  help  us  to  explain  the  phenoujenon.  A  hundred  years  ago  every  gen- 
tleman wore  his  sniidl  sword,  and  was  so  piompt  and  skillful  in  its  use,  that  he  who 
was  witiiout  the  weapon  or  the  i»ower  to  wield  it  was  at  a  great  disadvantage  among 
his  fellows.  When,  therefore,  the  habit  was  general,  it  was  necessarily  nniversal;  but 
now  a  general  disarmament  has  put  all  members  of  society  on  an  equality.  In  review- 
ing the  various  phases  of  armament,  ott'ensive  and  defensive,  wo  find  such  an  infinite 
variety  and  so  many  changes  of  style,  that  it  almost  seems  that  the  caprice  of  fashion 
ruled  the  world  in  former  times  as  now;  but  all  this  diversity  was  doubtless  controlled 
by  profound  physiological  laws.  There  can  bo  little  question  that  both  utility  and 
beauty  took  jwrt  in  producing  the  varied  results;  that  sexual  selection  and  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  combined  to  produce  the  variety  we  see.  A  curious  parallelism  is 
discoverable  in  tho  changing  styles  and  in  the  effectiveness  of  contemporaneous  ofl'en- 
sive  and  defensive  armor,  and  we  see  that  all  through  the  ages  the  same  contest  has 
been  maintained  that  is  now  going  on  between  improved  i)rqjcctiles  and  plate  armor. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  for  defense  ngaiiist  the  spear,  sword,  and  mace, 
chain,  scale,  or  plate  armor  was  adopted,  and  the  latter  was  finally  made  so 
nearly  impenetrable,  that  it  rendered  the  wearer  almost  invulnerable;  but 
such  a  suit  of  armor  was  so  heavy  as  to  prevent  all  free  and  rapid  move- 
ment, and  indeed  in  some  cases  to  render  it  difficult  for  an  overthrown 
warrior  to  rise  from  the  ground.  The  introduction  of  fire-arms  rendered 
scale  or  plate  armor  practically  useless,  and  it  was  speedily  abandoned. 
This  change  also  involved  the  adoption  of  a  new  system  of  tactics,  and 
celerity  of  movement  with  the  musket,  bayonet,  and  artillery  has  become 
the  important  factor  in  modern  \varfare.  So  in  the  history  of  the  Elasmo- 
branchs,  we  find  that  the  negative  defenses  of  spines  and  dermal  tubercles 
have  been  subordinated  to  the  teeth,  the  chief  organs  of  attack;  the  cutting 
and  piercing  succeeding  the  crushing  teeth,  Otodm,  Carchnrodon,  Lamna,  and 
Odontaspis  superseding  the  Cestracionts,  rsammodus,  Orodus,  Cochliodus,  etc. 

The  Placodernis,  the  ruling  dynasty  in  the  I)ev(»iiian  seas,  though  clad 
in  armor  that  made  them  invulnerable,  were  heavily  handicapped  by  the 
defenses  which  they  carried  about,  and  it  is  therefore  not  surpri.ing  that 
they  were  8U{)erseded  by  the  swifter  and  more  flexible  Shnrks  and  Teleosts. 

MON.  XVI 6  r 


I      . 


82 


PALEOZOIC  FISIIBS  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


i 


r 
r 

Ml 


I 


I 


It  is  evident  that  these  quick  •moving'  fishes,  though  powerless  to  injure  the 
Placodernis  by  direct  attiUik,  were  effectually  protected  by  their  celerity 
from  their  heavily  armed  enemies  or  rivals;  and  as  they  increased  in  num- 
bers, they  made  a  desert  around  their  antagonists,  and  gradually  exterminated 
them  by  the  most  powerful  of  all  weapons,  starvation. 

Section  A.— Fishes  of  the  Chemung  Group. 

The  Chemung  group  includes  a  series  of  mechanical  sediments,  coii- 
glomerates,  sandstones,  and  shales,  which  in  my  judgment  form  the  true 
base  of  the  Carboniferous  system.  They  are  best  developed  in  western 
New  York,  western  Pennsylvania,  and  West  Virginia,  where  they  attain  a 
thickness  of  from  2,500  to  i'),000  feet,  but  thin  rapidly  and  grow  fine  toward 
the  west,  until  in  central  O'hio  they  are  locally  wanting,  and  never  attain  a 
thickness  greater  than  about  100  feet.  In  Illinois  this  sheet  of  land-wash 
is  represented  by  the  Kinderhook  group,  day  and  fine  sand  mingled  with 
calcareous  matter  and  having  no  considerable  thickness. 

The  fossils  of  the  Chemung  are  marhie,  and  yet  the  formation  contains 
no  limestone,  as  the  proportion  of  land  wash  to  organic  material  was  greatly 
prepondera,ting.  It  is  evidently  a  shore  deposit  laid  down  along  the  coast 
of  the  Alleghany  belt  of  land  during  a  period  of  subsidence.  This  subsi- 
dence is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  mass  is  i-ipple-marked  from  top  to 
bottom,  many  of  its  layers  are  sun-craoked,  bored  by  annelids  and  strewed 
with  sea-weeds,  like  so  many  other  sea-beaches.  At  nimierous  localities 
these  evidences  of  shore  conditions  may  be  found  running  through  2,000 
feet  or  more  of  beds  which  must  have  been  successively  at  the  sea  level. 
The  sea  rose  and  fell  upon  this,  and  hundreds  of  streams  were  busy  for  ages 
bringing  down  from  the  high  lands  sand,  gravel,  and  clay,  which  seem  to 
have  filled  the  basin  about  as  fast  as  its  bottom  sank.  Along  this  old  shore 
line  some  of  the  gravel  beds  were  composed  of  very  coarse  material,  such 
as  could  not  have  been  transported  far  from  its  place  of  origin,  which  was 
the  belt  of  high  lands  now  represented  by  the  Blue  Ridge.  As  we  learn  by 
faults,  20,000  feet  or  more  of  rock  were  taken  from  these  high  lands  to  make 
the  strata  which  were  forming  in  the  interior  basin. 


FISHES  OK  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


83 


We  Imve  seen  that  tlie  Devoniiiii  rocks  were  deposited  in  a  hydro- 
graphical  bayin,  in  which  the  water  deei)ene(l  until,  over  a  largo  area,  a  sheet 
of  unusually  })ure  limestone  (the  Corniferous)  was  deposited;  then  the  sea 
began  to  retire,  its  outline  contracted,  and  in  shallower  water,  where  the 
land-wash  exceeded  in  (juantity  the  orj^anic  matter,  the  bituminous  and  earthy 
shales  of  the  Hamilton  were  laid  down.  Finally  the  Devonian  sea  was 
drained  away  and  its  bottom  became  dry  land.  But  not  for  long.  The  flood 
soon  returned  as  the  CiU'boniferous  sea,  which  caused  a  wide-spread  and  long- 
continued  inundation;  but  the  water  never  came  to  be  deep  and  pure  enough 
to  form  limestones  in  New  York  or  along  tli  Alleghany  belt.  There  the 
Chenumg,  Catskill,  and  Waverly  were  deposited,  all  land-wash  with  ripple- 
marks  from  top  to  bottom.  AVhile  the  mechanical  beda  were  being  thus 
deposited  along  the  shore,  in  the  central  portion  of  the  interior  basin  lime- 
stone was  precipitated,  until  in  Kentucky  and  southern  Illinois  it  was  more 
than  a  thou.oand  feet  in  thickness.  The  western  geologists  have  divided  this 
limestone  into  four  parts: 


1.  CheBter  limoBtoDe. 

2.  St.  Lou  18  limestone. 


3.  Keokuk  limebtone. 

4.  Burlington  limeBtono. 


The  edge  of  this  calcareous  sheet  now  reaches  northward  to  the  middle 
of  Ohio  and  eastward  into  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia.  As  we  ex- 
amine its  boundaries  we  find  that  only  the  Chester  group  is  there  repre- 
sented, but  going  southward  the  lower  members  are  seen  to  come  in  suc- 
cessively beneath  the  Chester,  until  in  central  Kentucky  all  are  present. 
This  means  a  gradual  subsidence  of  the  land  or  rise  in  tlie  sea  level,  so  that 
the  area  of  pure  water  was  constantly  widening.  Ultimately  it  reached 
beyond  the  present  margin  of  the  limestone,  which  has  been  considerably 
removed  and  cut  up  by  erosion. 

The  time  occupied  in  the  formation  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone  was 
enormous,  since  it  sufficed  for  the  accumulation  of  more  than  1,000  feet  of 
calcareous  sediments  formed  by  millions  of  generations  of  mollusks,  forarai- 
nifera,  and  other  lime-secreting  animals ;  each  of  which  made  its  contribu- 
tion of  shell  or  skeleton  to  the  mass.  Dtiring  all  this  time  shore  waves, 
rains,  and  rivers  were  eroding  the  land  and  filling  in  the  adjacent  portions 
of  the  sea-basin  with  land-wash.     But  the  progress  of  events  was  not  uni- 


■Sill 


84 


TALEOZOIO  FianKS  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


! 

!   « 


form;  tho  tmn  ii(lvnnce(l  and  n'treated  ninny  tinu-s,  la)ing  down  now  sheets 
of  gravel  (the  ruins  of  tho  quartz  veins  of  tho  eroded  hind),  now  sand  (liner 
fragments  of  the  same),  and  again  shales,  of  wliicii  the  materials  were  sup- 
plied from  the  argillaceous  rocks  and  were  deposited  in  deeper  water. 

From  these  facts  it  will  bo  seen  that  the  Carboniferous  linujstone  and 
tho  Chenuing  rocks  were  largely  synchronous,  but  the  conditions  under 
which  they  were  deposited  were  dittbrent,  and  few  of  their  fossils  are  tho 
same.  In  the  turbideiit  water  of  tiie  shallows  and  in  the  bays  and  estuaries 
groups  of  mollusks  and  (ishes  lived  vvliicli  were  (piitu  ditl'erent  from  those  of 
the  open  sea.  In  the  latter  Sliarks  predominated  and  thickly  strewed  tho 
sea  bottom  with  their  spines,  teeth,  and  dermal  tubercles.  Along  the  shores 
were  also  Sharks,  but  with  them  greater  numbers  of  scaled  and  plated  Ga- 
noids. The  remains  of  these  fishes  are  found  dismembered,  scattered,  often 
rolled  and  worn  in  tho  sandstones  or  conglomerates.  In  the  Berea  grit  of 
the  Waverly  we  not  unfrequently  find  entire  fishes;  small  tile-scaled 
Ganoids  wasiied  upon  the  old  beach  and  Iniried  in  the  sand;  in  the  Che- 
nuing nothing  but  fragments  liave  yet  been  obtained,  the  plates,  generally 
broken,  of  I'lacoderms,  Din'uMJtys,  Jlolonema,  etc.,  the  spines  of  Sharks, 
especially  Ctenacanthus,  the  scales  of  Holo2>(i/chius,  and  the  detached  palate 
teeth,  often  rolled  to  pebbles,  of  the  Dipnoans,  Ctenodus  and  IMiodus. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  physical  history  of  the  Ciiemung  group 
it  is  evident  that  it  marks  a  great  break  in  tho  order  of  nature  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  North  American  continent,  and  that  it  is  tho  record  of  a 
period  of  subsidence  which  succeeded  a  long  interval  of  progressive  eleva- 
tion, during  which  the  Hamilton  group  was  laid  down.  We  liave  also  seen 
that  the  ocean  into  which  the  materials  composing  the  Chenuing  and  Wa- 
verly were  washed  was  the  Carboniferous  ocean,  and  that  in  its  deeper  por- 
tions the  Carboniferous  limestone  was  forming  at  the  same  time  that  the 
great  banks  of  sand,  gravel,  and  clay  of  the  Chenuing  and  Waverly  wore 
accumulating  in  the  shallower  parts. 

Only  an  imperfect  view  has  yet  been  obtained  of  the  very  rich  fish 
fauna  of  tho  Chemung  jxroup.  Nothing  was  known  of  it,  indeed,  until 
about  1800,  when  Mr.  Andrew  Way,  of  Franklin,  Delaware  County,  N.  Y., 
discovered  some  bones  and  teeth  of  fishes  in  the  Chemung  rocks  near  his 


5! 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAKliOiNlFEUUUS  SYSTliM.  85 

place  of  reHidenco.  Theao  attracted  the  attention  of  Prof.  Edward  Orton, 
through  whom  I  ro.-oived  a  niimhor  of  intorcstinj,^  things  which  led  me  to 
oiM^n  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Way.  This  would  prohahly  luivo  resulted 
m  the  accumulation  of  a  largo  amount  of  now  matorial,  but  Iuh  death  ar- 
rested the  flow  of  knowledge  from  that  source,  an.I  as  he  aione  knew  the 
locahfies  that  had  furnished  his  specimens,  the  visits  of  other  collectors  to 
that  region  have  been  for  the  most  part  fruitless. 

About  ten  years  si.ice  Mr.  F.  A.  Kan.lall  discovered  in  a  Chemung 
conglomerate  at  Warren,  Pa.,  a  consi.lerable  number  of  the  teeth  and  bones 
of  fishes,  though  generally  in  a  rolled  and  broken  condition.  Subsequently 
a  collection  of  similar  character  was  made  at  the  same  place  by  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Beecher,  of  Albany.  Both  the.se  gentlemen  have  b.^en  kind  enough  to 
send  their  collections  to  me  for  examination,  and  [  have  described  "from 
them  a  ruunber  of  new  species. 

Mr.  Andrew  Sherwood,  of  Mansfield,  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  who  has  been 
from  childhood  an  enthusiastic  collector  of  fossils,  has  from  time  to  tin.e 
obtamed  hsh  re.nains  from  the  Chemung  of  that  neighborhood;  one  of 
these  forms  th.  'ype  of  the  genus  JIdiodus,  to  which  further  reference  will 
be  made.  Finally  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilley,  of  Le  Roy,  Bradford  County,  Pa.,  has 
tound  many  fish  ren.ains  in  the  Chemung  group  near  his  place  of  residence, 
and  among  them  the  representatives  of  several  new  genera  and  species,  of 
which  brief  descriptions  are  given  on  the  succeeding  pages. 


Order  DIPNOI. 
Genus  HELIODUS,  Newb. 

Many  years  since  Mr.  Andrew  Sherwood  discovered  in  the  Chemung 
rocks  of  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  the  palate  tooth  of  a  fish  which  I  have  de- 
scribed' and  made  the  type  of  a  new  genus,  to  which  I  gave  the  above  name. 

P.  J.  Van  Beneden  describes^  the  palate  tooth  of  a  fish  which  is  without 
doubt  generically  identical  with  that  found  by  Mr.  Sherwood,  but  it  is  very 
much  largei-^th^forn^  ;,^  ^j,^^^^^^,.  ^^.^^  ^j^^ 


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86 


PALEOZOIO  FISUES  OF  NOKTH  AMERICA. 


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latter  is  eight  inches.  M.  Van  Beneden  considered  his  specimen  as  generic- 
ally  identical  with  a  fish  eailier  described  by  M.  de  Koninck  and  himself,' 
and  which  was  made  the  type  of  a  genus  called  by  them  PaVMaphus;  but 
in  my  notice  o^'Heliodus  I  pointed  out  that  the  two  fish.es  differed  in  this, 
that  while  in  Pakedaphiis  the  teeth  were  separated,  forming  a  pair  like  those 
of  Ctenodiis,  Dipterus,  and  Ceratodus,  in  Jleliodus  they  are  united  to  form  a 
single  symmetrical,  rounded,  or  semicircular  triturating  organ. 

In  an  excellent  article  on  Dipterus,  Palcedaphus,  etc.,  published  by  Dr. 
R.  H.  Tra(|uair,^  the  opinion  is  advanced  that  the  two  species  of  Palcedaphus 
(P.  insignis  and  P.  devoniensis)  should  not  bo  separated,  and  that  the  genus 
Heliodus  can  not  stand.  From  this  opinion,  however,  I  am  compelled  to 
dissent,  and  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  Heliodus  as  a  genus  distinct  from 
all  its  associates  in  the  family  of  the  Ctenododipterini  {Dipterus,  Ctenodus, 
Ceratodus,  and  Palcedaphus  insignis),  for  the  reasons  given  in  my  description 
of  Jie  genus  in  tne  Palajontology  of  Ohio,  viz:  In  all  the  genera  enumerated 
the  teeth  consist  of  a  pair  of  triturating  plates  in  each  jaw,  the  lower  pair 
seated  on  the  splenial  bones,  the  upper  on  the  palato-ptery golds.  In  Helio- 
dus.^ on  the  contrary,  the  dental  apparatus  of  the  upper  jaw  (we  know 
nothing  yet  of  the  lower)  consisted  of  a  single  dental  plate,  which  represents 
the  two  teeth  of  the  other  genera  united  in  one  solid  piece.  This  seems  to 
me  to  be  a  character  which  has  generic  value.  The  specimen  upon  which 
my  description  is  based  remains  unique,  and  is  in  the  cabinet  of  the  School 
of  Mines,  Columbia  College. 

Heliodus  Lesleyi,  Newb. 
Vlate  XVIII,  Fig.  3. 
Heliodua  LesUyi  N.;  Palajontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  64,  pi.  58,  fig.  18. 

Upper  dental  plate  rounded  or  hippocrepiform,  one  and  a  half  inches 
in  length  and  breadth;  triturating  surftice  more  than  a  half  circle,  highest 
in  the  center,  where  it  forms  a  broad  smooth  boss;  from  this  radiate  eight 
tuberculated  ridges,  four  on  either  side  of  the  median  line,  which  is  marked 
by  a  deep  and  smooth  furrow.     The  ridges  on  each  side  differ  among  them- 

'  Bull.  Royal  Academy  Belgiiui),  2tl  series,  vol.  17,  p.  143. 
'  Aunals  aad  Magazine  Nat.  Hist.,  July,  1H78. 


mmmmim*mimu 


PIHHES  OF  THE  CARBON IFEKO US  SYSTEM, 


87 


sehe»,  but  are  symmetrical  with  those  on  the  other  side,  the  lateral  ridges 
being  shortest  and  bearing  several  tubercles,  while  those  which  border  the 
central  furrow  have  but  a  single  tubercle  at  the  extremity  of  each.  On 
both  sides  of  the  central  boss  the  crown  of  the  tooth  is  worn  in  a  shallow, 
rounded  depression  by  the  opposing  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw.  The  posterior 
margin  of  the  crown  is  neariy  straight,  and  is  slightly  crenulated  at  the 
center.  It  is  bordered  laterally  by  a  sloping  surface,  wl-ich  extends  down- 
ward and  backward  about  four  lines  and  expands  to  form  low,  wing- 
like projections.  This  portion  of  the  tooth  was  doubtless  covered  with 
integument. 

Formation  and  locality :  Upper  Chemung  rocks;  northern  Pennsylvania. 
Collected  by  Mr.  Andrew  Sherwood. 

Genus  DIPTERQS,  Ag. 

On  the  following  pages  a  number  of  species  of  the  fan-shaped  palate 
teeth  so  common  in  the  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  rocks  of  the  Old 
Worid  are  described  as  species  of  Dipterus.  Until  recently  the  group  of 
fishes  which  they  represent  was  unknown  on  this  continent,  and  even  when 
the  first  volume  of  the  Palaeontology  of  Ohio  was  published  their  paucity 
.  was  remarked  upon  as  strange  and  inexplicable.  A  few  years,  however, 
have  made  quite  a  change  in  the  aspect  of  the  problem,  as  a  large  number 
of  teeth  which  cleariy  belong  to  the  group  of  fishes  which  Pander  called 
Ctenodipterines  have  been  obtained  from  rocks  of  several  different  systems; 
for  example,  from  the  Jurassic  of  Colorado,  the  Permo-Carboniferous  of 
Indian^.,  the  Carboniferous  of  Ohio,  and  from  the  Chemung  and  Catskill  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  All  tliese  have  the  same  general  form  and 
structure,  and  are  so  much  alike  that  it  is  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  sepa- 
rate them  into  generic  groups.  The  teeth  from  the  higher  horizons  are 
without  tubercles  on  the  ridges,  while  in  the  Carboniferous  and  Devonian 
tboy  are  often  conspicuously  marked  in  this  manner;  but  there  are  smooth 
species  in  the  older  as  well  as  in  the  newer  rocks,  and  they  cannot  be 
grouped  by  any  geological  lines.  By  convention  those  found  in  the  Juras- 
sic, Triassic,  and  Permian  have  been  called  Cemtodus,  those  in  the  Carbon- 
iferous Ctenodus,  and  those  from  the  Devonian  Dipterus.     The  experienced 


-MSHWacWSBS 


88 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


eye  will  easily  discover  differences  in  the  groups  which  are  arranged  strati- 
graphically,  a  predominating  type  of  form  or  markings  associating  those  of 
the  Devonian  with  each  other,  and  separating  them  in  a  ro  \frh  way  from 
those  of  the  Carboniferous  age.  Still,  the  type  v/hich  is  predominant  in  the 
Carboniferous  occurs  in  the  Devonian,  where  may  be  also  found  as  excep- 
tions the  smooth-ridged  species  of  the  Mesozoic.  That  there  were  strongly 
marked  differences  between  the  fishes  that  carried  teeth  so  much  alike  is 
quite  certain,  for  the  group  designated  by  the  name  of  Dipferus  is  so  abun- 
dant and  so  well  preserved  in  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Scotland  that  its  entire 
structure  has  been  fully  made  oni,  and  we  find  thud  it  was  a  fish  having  a 
tessellated  cranium,  the  palate  teeUi  already  desci-ibeu,  and  a  fusiform  body 
covered  with  strong,  ename'icd,  punctate  scales.  In  the  Carboniferous 
and  still  higher  strata,  on  the  contrary,  the  fishes  which  carried  the  fan- 
shaped  dental  })latc.^  must  have  been  somewhat  differently  constituted,  for 
neither  in  the  Old  nor  in  the  New  World  has  anything  like  the  com- 
plete form  of  the  fish  been  made  out.  Iii  the  lagoons  of  the  coal-marshes 
of  England  and  Ohio,  where  the  circumstances  were  favorable  for  the 
preservation  of  even  delicate  structures,  the  teeth,  usually  dismembered, 
but  occasionally  attached  to  the  palato-pterygoid  and  the  splenial  bones,* 
and  portions  of  the  tessellated  O'anium,  were  the  only  parts  preserved;  while, 
as  yet,  in  the  higher  strata  nothing  but  the  teeth  have  been  found.  This 
is,  however,  an  indefinable  difference,  and  much  more  raateiial  than  we  yet 
possess  must  be  obtained  before  we  can  satisfactorily  coordinate  the  fossil 
Dipterine  fishes  among  themselves  or  demonstrate  their  collective  or  indi- 
vidual relations  to  the  living  Ceratodus.  This  has  been  attempted  by  Hux- 
ley, Gunther,  Miall,  Traquair,  and  others,  but  further  than  demonstrating  the 
wide  differences  in  structure  between  the  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  Dip- 
terines  and  the  living  Ceratodus  their  labors  have  thrown  little  light  upon 
the  classification  of  the  various  representatives  of  this  great  genetic  line  of 
fishes.  For  the  present,  then,  it  is  safer  not  to  attempt  to  classify  accurately 
the  similar  teeth  of  Bipterus,  Ctcnodus,  and  the  fossil  Ceratodus;  but,  as  others 
have  done  before  us,  we  now  provisionally  class  all  the  older  Dipterines  as 
belonging  to  the  genus  Bipterus,  the  Middle  and  Upper  Carboniferous  species 
as  Ctemdus,  the  Triassic  as  Ceratodus;  but  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


89 


give  any  satisfactory  generic  definitions  to  these  different  groups.     lii  time 
more  material  will  doubtless  make  easy  what  is  now  impossible. 

The  teeth  here  described  as  new  species  of  Dipterus  are  chiefly  from  a 
bone  bed  in  the  Chemung  conglomerate  in  northwestern  Pennsylvania.  In 
this  conglomerate  nothing  is  well  preserved  but  the  dense  palate  teeth  of 
these  fishes,  and  even  these  are  sometimes  rolled  into  rounded  pebbles;  yet 
we  occasionally  find  ganoid  scales  and  those  that  probably  clothed  the 
fishes  to  vhich  the  teeth  appertained.  In  this  formation,  generally  classed 
as  Upper  Devonian,  but  in  my  judgment  more  properly  considered  as  the 
base  of  the  Carboniferous,  a  careful  search  will  undoubtedly  bring  to  light 
a  large  number  of  fish  remains  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  great  interest. 
What  we  know  of  them  now  is  almost  solely  due  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  F.  A. 
Randall  and  Mr.  C.  E.  Beecher,  who,  while  much  occupied  with  business 
duties,  found  time  to  observe  and  collect  with  discrimination  and  success. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  a  very  important  addition  has  been  made  to  the 
list  of  Dipterine  fishes  before  known  by  the  discovery  by  Mr.  Frank  Wagner 
of  a  magnificent  species  of  Ctenodus  in  the  Cleveland  shale  (Lower  Carbonif- 
erous) at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  This  tooth,  which  is  fairly  shown  in  PI.  XXVII, 
Fig.  30,  has  been  named  C.  Wagncri,  in  recognition  of  the  sharp-eyed  indus- 
try of  Mr.  V^agner,  who  has  obtained  from  this  formation  and  locality,  before 
considered  barren,  an  interesting  series  of  fish  remains. 

DiPTEBus  (Ctknodu.s)  Nelsoni,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  19,  20. 

Teeth  ovoid  or  triangular  in  outline,  one  inch  to  one  inch  seven  lines 
long,  one-half  inch  to  one  inch  in  width;  crown  marked  with  seven  strong, 
acute,  radiating  ridges,  somewhat  waved  or  obscurely  tuberculated.  The 
anterior  margin  is  formed  by  the  strongest  of  these  ridges,  the  others  dimin- 
isliing  in  size  posteriorly.  Though  usually  seven  in  number,  the  rudiment 
of  an  eighth  is  sometimes  seen  at  the  back  end. 

The  teeth  of  this  species  will  be  at  once  distinguished  from  all  others 
described  by  their  strong  subacute  ridges,  of  which  the  edges  are  higldy 
polished;  sometimes  quite  plain,  especially  in  large  and  old  teeth;  in  those 


m 


f 


90 


PALEOZOIC  PISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEKIOA. 


which  are  smaller  and  less  worn  undulated,  and  almost  but  not  quite  tuber- 
culated. 

The  best  specimen  in  my  possession  was  received  from  Prof.  E.  T.  Nel- 
son, of  Delaware,  Ohio,  to  whom  the  species  is  dedicated. 

Formation  and  locality:  Chemung  group;  Warren,  Pa.;  where  it  has 
been  obtained  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Randall  and  Mr.  Charles  E.  Beechet. 

DiPTEBUS  (Ctenodus)  plabellifobmis,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  21,  21». 

Teeth  triangular  in  outline,  about  one  inch  in  length,  those  of  the  upper 
jaw  nearly  as  wide  as  long,  forming  an  equilateral  triangle;  those  of  the  under 
jaw  twice  as  long  as  wide;  crown  remarkably  flat;  the  upper  teeth  some- 
times slightly  concave,  those  of  the  lower  set  gently  arched;  surface  marked 
by  eight  or  more  radiating  ridges,  which  continue  nearly  or  quite  to  the  inte- 
rior angle;  the  anterior  ridges  strongest;  the  middle  and  posterior  ones  set 
with  rounded  obtuse  tubercles. 

Though  having  a  general  resemblance  to  some  of  the  teeth  described 
and  figured  by  Pander  and  Agassiz,  there  are  none  which  correspond  closely 
with  these  in  form  and  tuberculation. 

Formation  and  locality :  Chemung  group ;  Warren,  Pa.  Collected  by 
Mr.  Charles  E.  Beecher  and  Mr.  F.  A.  Randall. 

DiPTF.itus  (Ctenodus)  levis,  n.sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  22,  23, 

Teeth  triang  .lar  or  oblong  in  outline,  one  inch  six  lines  in  length  by 
eight  lines  in  width;  strongly  arched;  ridges  very  few,  four  or  five  in  num- 
ber, all  smooth,  and,  like  the  central  portion  of  the  crown,  highly  polislied. 
The  ridges  .ire  relatively  short,  though  high,  all  tlie  central  portion  of  the 
tooth  being  plain. 

Of  described  species  this  most  restmbles  Dij)terus  glaher  Pander,'  but 
in  that  species  the  ridges  are  acute,  while  in  the  teeth  under  consideration 
they  are  remarkably  flattened. 


'Die  Ctenodipterinon  der  devonisohens  System,  p.  29,  pi.  7,  fig.  10. 


FISHES  OF  TUE  CAliB02<lFEllOUS  SYSTEM. 


91 


Formation  and  locality:  Chemung  group;  Warren,  Pa.  Collected  by 
Mr.  F.  A.  Randall. 

DiPTEKUS  (Ctenodus)  minutus,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XX'S'II,  Fip.  26. 

Teeth  small,  two  to  five  lines  in  diameter;  ovoid  or  oblong  in  outline, 
gently  arched,  inner  angle  of  crown  smooth  ;  two-thirds  of  the  outer  surface 
occupied  by  five  to  seven  divergent  tuberculated  ridges. 

These  little  teeth  might  be  supposed  to  be  simply  those  of  the  young 
of  some  of  the  larger  species  with  wh;  ch  they  are  associated,  but  their  form 
and  markings  are  such  as  suffice  at  once  to  distinguish  them.  Aside  from 
their  small  size  they  differ  from  the  teeth  of  J).  Nehoni,  which  they  most 
resemble,  in  having  the  ridges  strongly  tuberculated,  while  in  the  larger 
species  they  are  without  tubercles.  D.  flahelliformis  is  much  flatter,  with  a 
larger  number  of  ridges,  and  these  more  obtusely  tuberculated,  while  in 
D.  levis  the  teeth  are  of  quite  different  form,  and  the  ridges  are  without 
tubercles.  Hence  we  are  compelled  to  regard  these  as  the  teeth  of  a  small 
but  well  marked  species  of  Dipterus,  and  one  which  resembles  more  than  its 
associates  tlie  teeth  of  the  Carboniferous  genus  Ctenodus,  in  many  of  which 
the  ridges  are  almost  equal  in  size  and  divergence,  and  are  composed  of 
closely  set  tubercles  that  terminate  abijve  in  sharp  points  deflected  outward. 
To  these  the  teeth  before  us  are  quitc^  similar,  and  illustrate  what  has  been 
said  in  the  notes  on  the  genus,  of  the  impossibility  of  drawing  any  sharp 
line  of  demarkation  between  Dipterus  and  Ctenodus. 

Formation  and  locality :  Chemurig  conglomerate ;  Warren,  Pa.  Col- 
lected by  Mr.  F.  A.  Randall. 

SPHENOPHOPvUS,  nov.  gen. 

Of  the  fish  to  which  I  have  given  this  name  only  a  clavicle  is  yet 
known  to  me ;  this  is  a  flattened  bo  ne,  six  inches  or  more  in  length  by 
one  and  a  half  inches  in  width  at  the  middle,  narrowing  to  either  end  ;  the 
anterior  margin  strongl}'  reflexed  ;  th  3  exterior  surface  is  marked  by  many 
rows  of  relatively  large  arrowhead-like  tubercles,  closely  set  one  behind 
the  other,  the  points  directed  forward. 


■b 


92 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTU  AMEBICA. 


i'   ! 


iH! 


h  1 


This  strong  iiiid  elegant  onifimentiition  differs  so  much  from  that  ot 
any  other  known  fish,  tliat  it  will  servo  to  identify  even  the  smallest  frag- 
ment ;  but  until  some  other  portions  of  the  fish  shall  be  discovered  it  will 
be  impossible  to  speak  positively  in  regard  to  its  relations.  It  seems  prob- 
able, however,  that  it  was  a  Crossopterygian  Ganoid,  having  affinities 
with  Ilolopti/chius  and  Oni/chodus.  The  cephalic  bones  of  the  latter  genus 
are  covered  with  somewhat  triangular  appressed  tubercles,  which  I  have 
compared  to  double  cones  flattened  down  on  their  sides.  Some  of  the 
bones  of  Sauripferis  also  exhibit  a  style  of  ornimentation  closely  allied 

to  this. 

Sphenophv.'',U8  Lilleyi,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XX,  Fig.  15. 

The  very  imperfect  generic  description  given  above  is  based  on  a  single 
specimen  sent  me  by  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilley,  of  Le  Koy,  Bradford  County,  Pa. 
It  was  procured  from  tlie  Chemung  rocks  in  the  vicinity,  and  formed  part 
of  a  large  collection  of  fish  remains  which  he  has  obtained  from  the  Che- 
mung and  Catskill  formations.  The  arrowhead  ornamentation  is  so  pecul- 
iar, that  it  will  be  immediately  recognized  wherever  seen.  It  has  seemed 
best,  therefore,  to  give  a  name  to  the  fish  it  represents,  since  it  is  certain 
that  it  will  be  hereafter  met  with  by  those  who  are  collecting  the  fossils  of 
the  Chemung.  A  more  complete  description  must  wait  the  discovery  of 
more  material. 

H0L0NP:MA,  nov.  gen. 

(Uoloa,  all ;  nema,  thread.) 

A  Placoderra  fish  of  medium  size,  having  the  body  inclosed  in  armor 
made  up  of  polygonal  plates,  of  which  the  external  surface  is  entirely  cov- 
ered by  radiating  raised  lines  of  enamel.  The  central  plate  of  the  plastron 
is  coffin-shaped,  pointed  before,  broadest  near  the  anterior  end,  where  the 
sides  are  produced  into  prominent  lateral  angles ;  from  this  point  backwards 
it  narrows  to  a  truncated  end,  which  is  half  as  wide  as  the  greatest  breadth. 
In  the  only  species  yet  known  this  plate  is  about  eight  inches  in  length  by 
four  inches  in  breadth.  Numerous  portions  of  other  plates  have  been  for  a 
long  time  in  my  collection,  but  none  are  sufficiently  complete  to  enable  me  to 


I 


FISHES  OF  TIIK  CAUBONIPEROCTS  SYSTEM. 


93 


reconstruct  tlio  (lofensivo  armor.  Prol)al)ly  the  central  plato  of  tlio  plaHtron 
WfV8  surrounded  by  four  others,  as  in  Coccosteus  and  Dinichtlu/n.  Of  the 
phitea  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  body  wo  have  as  yet  little  knowledge. 
Whether  the  body  was  protected  above  by  one  great  dorsal  jdate,  as  in 
Diiiichthifs,  or  by  six  or  more  articuhited  together,  as  in  J'frrichthi/s,  wo  can 
not  say,  but  some  of  the  plates  whicli  have  been  found  may  perhaps  have 
been  located  on  the  back. 

More  material  will  bo  reipiired  before  we  can  decide  in  regard  to  the 
affinities  of  this  fish,  bu«;  since  we  have  failed  to  find  any  trace  of  a  dorsal 
shield  resembling  that  of  Dhiichthifs,  the  strongest  plate  in  the  armor  and 
the  most  likely  to  be  jireserved,  we  may  infer  tliat  the  protection  of  the 
upper  side  of  the  body,  like  that  below,  was  furnished  by  several  overlap- 
ping and  relatl"ely  small  and  thin  j)lates. 

Prof  E.  W.  Claypole,  who  described'  the  middle  ventral  jjlate  of  tliis 
fish,  has  referred  it  with  doubt  to  Plerichthi/s ;  but  this  was  a  much  larger 
fish  than  any  known  species  of  that  genus  and  had  a  dermal  armor  con> 
posed  of  plates  of  different  shapes  from  those  of  rfcrkhthys  and  ornamented 
in  a  distinct  and  peculiar  way.  Slany  years  before  Professor  Claypole 
published  the  notice  of  his  Pterichthi/fi  rtujosus  I  had  received  fragments  of 
different  plates  of  this  fish  and  had  written  a  partial  description  of  them, 
giving  to  the  genus  the  name  now  used.  Feeling  it  necessary  to  separate 
the  genus  from  Pterichthi/s,  I  have  thought  best  to  retain  the  name  then 
cl'osen  as  expressive  of  its  most  striking  character,  retaining  Professor  Clay- 
pole's  name  for  the  type  species  described  below. 

HoLONEMA  EiiGosA,  Claypole,  sp. 

Plate  XVII,  Figs.  1-4. 

Pterichthys  ruijoHUS,  (Jhijpole;  Proc.  Am.  Philos.  Soc,  vol.  20,  1883,  p.  664. 

In  the  Chemung  rocks  of  New  Jersey  and  northern  Pennsylvania  it  is 
not  uncommon  to  meet  with  fragments  of  flat  and  relatively  thin  plates  of 
bone,  which  evidently  once  formed  part  of  the  defensive  armor  of  a  Placo- 
derm  fish.     These  fragments  are  usually  covered  with  an  ornamentation 

'  Pitic.  Am.  Pbilos.  Soc,  vol.  20,  1883,  p.  664. 


94 


PALEOZOIC  FI8UES  OF  NOltTU  AMEHIOA. 


ii 


El! 


^  I     ; 


which  consists  of  raised  enamolod  lint  a,  often  simple  and  j)anilh^l,  but  some- 
times broken  and  somewhat  tortuous. 

In  1865  I  received  from  Prof  Edward  Orton  a,  nearly  complete  i)late 
of  a  comparatively  small  individual  belonging  to  this  species.  It  had  been 
obtained  by  him  from  the  Chenuing  rocks  of  Franklin,  Delaware  County, 
N.  Y.  This  was  a  posterior  lateral  plate  of  the  ventral  series.  Subsequently 
I  found  in  the  State  cabinet  at  Albany,  New  York,  numerous  fragments  of 
plates  marked  in  the  same  manner,  but  none  sufficiently  well  preserved  to 
permit  a  restoration  of  the  complete  outlines.  From  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilley,  of  Le 
Roy,  Bradford  County,  Pa.,  I  have  recently  received  a  considerable  number 
of  such  fragments,  several  of  which  are  represented  on  Plate  XVII.  The 
largest  portion  of  any  plate  yet  found,  excejjt  that  figured  by  Professor 
Claypole,  is  that  represented  in  Fig.  1,  the  original  of  which  is  now  in  the 
geological  collection  of  tlie  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  For 
the  privilege  of  reproducing  it  I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Prof  R.  P. 
Whitfield.  This  is  plainly  a  lateral  plate,  but  whether  of  the  upper  or  tinder 
surface  is  not  certain.  That  it  is  a  lateral  plate  may  be  inferred  from  its 
lack  of  symmetry  and  the  fact  that  it  nowhere  shows  the  beveled  margins, 
indicating  overlap,  so  characteristic  of  the  central  plates  in  this  and  other 
related  fishes. 

The  surface  markings  of  the  plates  of  this  fish  are  so  peculiar,  that  they 
will  be  recognized  wherever  found,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  figures  now  given 
will  prompt  collectors  to  search  for  material  which  will  permit  its  complete 
restoration. 

In  Fig.  2  I  have  copied  Professor  Claypole's  photograph,  given  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  It  is  reproduced  by 
photo-engraving,  and  may  therefore  be  accepted  as  truthful.  It  is  of  about 
half  natural  size;  the  original,  of  which  Professor  Claypole  has  kindly  sent 
me  a  cast,  was  not  ai'ched,  out  quite  flat ;  from  which,  as  well  as  from  its  form, 
I  infer  it  was  the  central  plate  of  the  plastron,  and  to  be  compared  with  the 
lozenge-shaped  plate  of  Coccosteus;  the  ventro-median  plate  of  Owen. 

Since  the  above  notes  were  written  I  have  received  from  Professor 
Claypole  a  cast  of  another  plate  of  Ilolonema  rugosa,  said  to  have  been  found 
in  the  Catskill  rocks  of  Bradford  County,  Pa.     It  is  a  lateral  plate,  much 


I'lSilES  OK  THE  CAKUOMll-'KUOUS  BYHTKM. 


95 


llko  tluit  rupreseiitt'd  in  Fijr.  4,  but  rouiul(id  below  mid  with  coarsor  orna- 
moiitatioii,  like  that  of  Fif^.  •$,  whicli  is  ji  copy  of  a  portion  of  a  contml  phito 
of  tho  ciirapacc,  fonnd  in  tho  sanio  re^'ion,  bnt  miid  Ijy  Mr.  Lilley,  from 
whom  I  received  it,  to  have  come  from  iho  Chemun-r  rocks. 

GANORHYNcmrs  Bkecfieki,  n.  sp. 
Plato  XIX,  Pig.  2. 

Head  terminatinj,'  anteriorly  in  a  massive  bony  arch,  of  which  the  under 
surface  is  rounded  and  covered  with  a  thick  sheet  of  poli.slied  enamel,  marked 
with  pits  of  irregular  size  and  distribution,  tho  mouths  of  calciirerous  tubes. 
Of  this  bono  the  anterior  face  is  vertical,  the  under  surface  flatly  arched 
from  front  to  roar,  tlic  posterior  face  transversely  straijrlit  in  the  middle,  on 
tho  sides  excavated  to  form  two  largo  rounded  notches,  perhaps  tho  nasal 
apertures. 

This  interesting  specimen  apparently  represents  the  labial  margin  of 
the  upper  jaw;  a  strong  bony  arch  firmly  anchylosed  to  the  head,  and 
covered  with  polished  but  porous  enamel,  forming  a  powerfid  dental  organ, 
fitted  for  crushing  mollusks  or  crustaceans.  It  is  evidently  generically 
identical  with,  but  specifically  different  from,  a  peculiar  and  uniipio  speci- 
men found  without  labe^  or  history  by  Dr.  Henry  Woodward  among 
the  material  inherited  by  the  South  Kensington  Museum  from  the  liritish 
Museum,  and  described  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Traquair '  with  the  name  of  Gimorhyn- 
chus  Woodwardi.  The  resemblances  and  differences  between  that  specimen 
and  the  one  before  us  will  be  apparent  on  comparing  tho  figures  now  given 
with  those  which  accompany  the  article  referred  to. 

Dr.  Traquair  compares  his  specimen  with  the  nasal  extremity  of  the 
head  of  Diptenis,  and  gives  apparently  good  reasons  for  considering  it  the 
labial  margin  of  the  upper  jaw  of  a  Dipnoan  fish  allied  to  Diptcrus,  Ctenodus, 
and  Palccdaphus.  It  is  even  possible  that  both  the  specimen  described  by 
Dr.  Traquair  and  that  now  under  consideration  are  the  anterior  and  i)re- 
maxillary  elements  in  the  dentition  of  some  species  of  Ctenodus;  since  the 
extremity  of  the  head  of  Ctenodus  is  not  known,  and  the  labial  margin  of  the 
upper  jaw  in  Dipterus  is  so  similar. 


'  Qeol.  Mag.,  vol.  10,  London,  1873,  p.  55W. 


PfWRMVMMMMWM 


9G 


PALKOZOIO  FISIIEa  OF  NOUTII  AMKUIOA. 


Tho  subject  will  bo  furtbor  illtiiiiinatod  by  reference  to  the  paper'  of 
Dr.  Triupiiiir  on  I)i(it<;rus,  Puladaphits,  Hdiudux,  etc.,  also  to  Van  l^eneden's 
description "  of  I'alddnplius. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  tbe  liiHtory  of  tlie  specimen  described  by  Dr. 
Traquair  is  unknown,  and  no  evidence  is  furnished  by  it  of  the  geological 
age  of  the  strata  from  which  it  came.  From  its  relation  to  Diptcrus  Dr. 
Traquair  infers  that  it  came  from  some  Pahrozoic  formation.  The  discovery 
of  a  Bccoml  species  of  the  genus  Ganorh/jnrhtts  in  tho  Cliemung  rocks  of 
Pennsylvania  confirms  this  cctnjectiiro,  and  roiulers  it  probable  ths't  this  was 
a  wide-spread  form  in  the  Devonian  and  C^arboniferous  ages.  It  also  fur- 
nislies  now  evidence  of  the  great  development  of  this  group  of  Dipterine 
Ganoids  in  the  age  of  fishes. 

The  tessellated  cranium  of  Z>//;fcrMS,  so  well  shown  by  Hugh  Miller  aiul 
Pander,  has  little  in  common  with  that  of  Ccratodus,  but  is  remarkably  like 
that  c  r  Ctenodus,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  figure  given  on 
another  page  of  Ctcnodus  Ohiocnsis  Cope,  half  size  linear  from  a  speiiimen 
in  the  possession  of  the  writer.  As  is  remarked  in  the  Pala'ontology  of 
Ohio  (loc.  cit.),  the  similarity  exhibited  in  the  cranium  and  dentition  of 
these  genera  is  such,  that  new  characters  must  be  found  before  they  can  be 
satisfactorily  differentiated. 

In  181)8  Pander  described  tho  anterior  extremity  of  the  head  of  a  fish 
found  in  tho  Upper  Devonian  rocks  of  Russif;,  which,  though  apparently 
distinct  from  Ganorhi/nchus,  is  evidently  closely  allied  to  it.  In  this  the 
labial  margin  is  flattened  to  form  an  arched  dental  plate,  behind  which  on 
either  side  are  mammillary  teeth  increasing  in  size  backward.  This  fish  he 
called  Holodus,  and  he  has  given''  a  description  and  figure  of  it. 

Later  (1863)  Hermann  von  Meyer  published*  a  description  of  the 
anterior  extremity  of  the  jaw  of  a  fish  which  he  called  Archxotylus  ignotus, 
but  it  is  evident  that  he  had  not  seen  the  description  of  Holodus,  for  his 
specimen  is  generically  and  pei'haps  specincally  identical  with  that  described 
by  Pander. 

■  AntiaU  aud  M»g.  Nat.  Hist.,  July,  1878. 

'  Bull.  Acad.  Belg. ,  2d  series,  vol.  17, 18«i4 ;  see  also  Palieontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  68. 
"Die  Cteuodipter'noii  des  devonischon  Systems,  pp.  UC'^O,  pi.  6,  flgg.  1-14. 
'^Paloiontograpbica,  vol.  11,  p.  285,  pi.  44,  flgs.  1-7. 


FISHES  OF  Tin:  CAUUOJSIFKUOUS  SYSTEM 


97 


It  may  Hooin  Htriiiijyo  tlmt  tlio  muzzles  only  of  Jlolddus  and  (lauorhyn- 
chus,  (lisconnectcMl  from  other  portions,  should  he  found  in  several  countries, 
so  that  wo  are  left  in  doubt  as  to  tho  character  of  tho  nuijor  part  of  the  head 
and  all  the  body  in  those  fishes;  but  it  should  bo  reiu(jnibered  that  the 
dental  apparatus  of  most  animals  is  composed  of  the  densest  and  most  dura- 
ble tissues,  and  it  is  therefore  very  frecjuently  preserved,  while  all  otl.iir 
parts  have  perished.  In  m.my  ancient  fishes  the  dentary  element  of  the 
lower  jaw  was  composed  of  firm  and  resistant  bone,  while  tho  angular  and 
articular  portions  consisted  of  cartilage,  and  have  entirely  disappeared.  In 
the  economy  of  nature  hardness  and  strength  are  given  to  organs  where 
these  are  necessary  and  indispoiisable  qualities,  while  those  parts  not  ex- 
posed to  violence  or  wear  consist  of  soft  porous  bone  or  even  cartilage. 
This  is  conspicuously  true  of  the  structure  of  tho  Klasmobranch  fishes,  and 
we  find  tho  same  thing  in  a  less  degree  throughout  tho  animal  kingdom. 


Phyllolepis  delicatula,  n.  sp. 
Plato  XIX,  Fig.  11. 

Scales  or  scutes  thin,  one  inch  four  lines  in  length  by  one  inch  in  ' 
width,  elliptical  in  outline ;  tho  surface  marked  with  fine  lines,  which  on 
tho  sides  are  parallel,  but  in  the  central  portion  of  either  f  !  are  somewhat 
confused  and  reticulate.  In  the  outer  of  the  plate  the  lines  are  very  closely 
approximated,  more  widely  separated  on  the  sides,  and  still  more  so  at  the 
ends.  • 

The  plate  upon  which  this  description  is  based  was  evidently  very 
thin,  and  tho  nuvrkings  on  it  are  delicate.  In  form  and  ornamentation  it 
exhibits  a  great  similarity  to  the  fossil  described  by  Agassiz'  and  called 
Phyllolepis  conceniricus.  At  the  sam3  time  the  pecular  style  of  ornamenta- 
tion is  almost  identical  with  that  of  Holonema  ruyosa,  and  I  can  not  but  think 
that  these  rounded,  detached,  thin  plates  were  in  some  way  associated  with 
large  angular  ones,  which  were  united  to  form  a  carapace  somewhat  like 
that  of  I'terichthys. 

'  PoixHong  FuBsiles  dii  Vieux  Gr^  Kouge  ou  Syatdine  D^vouien  (Old  Kod  Saudstone),  etc.,  p.  67, 
pl.24,  fiB.  1. 

MON   XVI 7 


98 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTU  AMBRICA. 


i  I 


i  i 


;|: 


Af^assiz  says  of  the  specimens  of  PhyUolej^^s,  "  that  they  are  not  iinfre- 
quently  met  with  in  tlie  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  Clashbeiniie,  Scotland,  but 
are  generally  incomplete ;  often  rolled  as  well  as  torn."  This  is  also  the 
case  with  t)ie  plates  of  Hclonema,  and  I  can  not  but  think  they  are  generic- 
ally  identical.^ 

Formation  andlocality :  Chemung  group ;  Bradford  County,  Pa.  Col- 
lected by  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilley. 

D'NICHTHYS   TUBERCULATUS,  H.  Sp. 
Plate  XXXI  I,  rig.  3. 

In  the  fish  beds  of  the  Chemung  conglomerate  at  Warren,  Pa.,  Mr.  F. 
A.  Randall  and  Mr.  C.  K.  Beecher  liave  obti'ined  numerous  fragments  of 
the  plates  of  a  Placoderm  which  is  closely  allied  to,  if  not  identical  with, 
Dinichthys.  Aside  from  a  large  number  of  ixniiitelligible  fragments  of  plates 
once  evidently  of  considerable  size  (because  they  are  from  one-quarter  to 
one-half  an  inch  in  thickness)  the  greater  part  of  two  supra-scapular  plates 
and  the  anterior  half  of  a  dorsomedian  are  sufficiently  well  preserved  to 
merit  description.  The  supra-scapular  plates  have  essentially  the  form  of 
tiiose  of  Dinichthys  Terrclli,  viz,  are  trapezoidal,  and  have  a  similar  though 
still  more  prominent  condyle  projecting  from  the  anterior  margin  for  artic- 
ulation with  the  angle  of  the  head  Also,  as  in  the  larger  species  of  Di- 
nichtLj'^,  a  straight  and  deeply  incised  line  runs  from  the  base  of  the  articu- 
lating condjjle  to  the  jxtsterior  border,  traversing  nearly  the  middle  of 
the  plate.  The  portion  of  a  dorsomedian  referred  to  abo  e  also  has  pre- 
cisely the  structure  of  that  of  Dinichthys,  viz,  it  is  evenly  aiched  in  outline 
posteriorly  and  carries  a  strong  keel  on  tlie  under  surface  which  terminates 
behind  in  a  neck-like  process  projecting  downward.  These  characters 
justify  me  in  associating  these  specimens  with  the  species  of  Dinichthys. 
^^hey  present,  however,  one  character  not  yet  noticed  in  any  other  member 
of  the  genus,  viz,  the  exposed  surfaces  of  the  plates  of  the  head  and  body 

wei'e  strongly  tuberculated.     This  is  a  character  which  has  given  its  name 

__ ~_^ . — y , 

'Since  the  abovo  description  was  written  I  have  soon  in  the  collection  of  M.  Mh'z  Lohest,  of 
Liego,  Bolgium,  a  nniiilii  i'  of  hciUcs  of  a  Hinall  xpecies  o(  PhyUolepit  apparently  idoatical  with  this. 
They  were  from  the  PHamniitc  do  Coudroz,  the  equivalent  of  our  Chemung  group. 


FISHEb  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


99 


to  Coccosteus,  the  near  relative  of  Dinklitliys,  and  it  is  therefore  not  out  of 
place  in  the  latter  genus. 

In  size  this  fish  was  comparatively  sni.ill;  the  supra-scapular  plates 
are  about  threa  inches  in  length  and  breadth  and  nearly  half  an  inch  in 
thickness  at  the  center.  Two  specimens  from  the  same  side,  and  therefore 
belonging  to  different  individuals,  are  of  about  equal  size.  The  dorsome- 
dian  is  also  very  small ;  it  was  not  more  than  three  inches  in  breadth  and 
leng„h,  judging  from  the  portion  preserved.  The  tuberculation  of  the  sur- 
ftice  is  relatively  coarse,  and  tlie  tubercles  vary  nnich  in  size  and  are  irreg- 
ularly scattered.  Most  of  tiiem  seem  to  be  hemispherical  and  plain,  but 
others  are  more  or  less  pitted  and  a  few  are  stellate.  The  great  thickness 
of  the  plates  compared  with  their  area  is  a  striking  feature  in  this  fish.  In 
this  .-espeot  it  is  quite  diffei-ent  from  the  smaller  species  of  Dinichthys  from 
the  Cleveland  shale— i).  minor,  I),  corruoaius,  and  R  Gouldii. 

Tins  species  also  occurs  in  the  Psanunite  de  Condroz,  near  Liege,  Bel- 
gium. 

Onychodus  HopKiNsr,  Newb. 

In  the  Chemung  rocks  at  Franklin,  Delaware  County,  N.  Y.,  Mr. 
Andrew  Way  collected  many  detached  teeth  of  a  species  of  OnycLdus, 
to  which  I  have  given  the  above  name.  Tiiese  teeth  are  generally  about 
one  inch  in  length,  conical,  acute,  and  simply  curved.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, the  point  is  slightly  turned  forward,  giving  a  hint  of  the  sigmoidal 
curve  which  is  so  conspicuous  a  feature  in  the  great  species  of  the  Cornif- 
erous  Ihnestone  (0  sigmoides).  Tlie  bases  of  these  teeth  are  expanded,  and 
it  is  evident  that  they  rested  upon  and  embraced  the  arch  of  bone  which 
supported  them;  in  this  respect  resembling  the  denticles  of  0.  sigmoides,  and 
differing  from  those  of  0.  Ortoni,  m  which  they  are  sunk  in  the  substance 
of  the  bone  as  posts  are  planted  in  the  ground.  As  in  the  other  species  of 
Onychodus,  the  teeth  above  described  formed  >■  series  of  six  to  eight  in  num- 
ber, set  on  a  short  arched  bone,  which  was  embraced  in  the  symphysis  of 
the  mandible,  constituting  a  piercing,  tearing  instrument,  sucii  as  has  no 
known  counterpart  in  the  animal  kingdom. 

The  genus,  as  far  as  yet  known,  is  represeiited  only  by  the  three 
species  enumerated  above,  viz:   0.  sigmoides,  from  the  Corniferous  liiue- 


■■■■Bl 


100 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOKTU"  AMEFICA. 


I  1 


. 


■  t  i 


stone;  0.  Ortoni,  from  the  Huron  shale;  and  0.  Hopkinsi,  from  the  Che- 
mung. They  were  all  apparently  marine,  cycliferous  Ganoids  of  large 
size,  probably  Crossopterygians,  of  which  the  head  was  covered  with  a  large 
number  of  enameled  plates  ornamented  with  appressed  double  cones  of 
enamel,  and  forming  a  tessellated  pattern  most  like  that  of  Polypterus.  The 
bones  of  the  head  seem  to  have  disarticulated  readily,  f(;r  they  are  always 
found  separated  and  genev  1\  scattered.  The  cranial  structure  has  never 
been  fully  illustrated,  but  jaws,  teeth,  and  scales  are  described  and  tig- 
lu'ed  in  the  first  volume  n      le  Pahcontology  of  Ohio. 

It  may  be  remarked  in  this  connection  that  in  the  genus  Aspuhrhynchus 
a  detached  triangular  bone  ia  set  in  or  on  the  symphysis  of  the  mandibles, 
serving  to  complete  the  arch  of  the  jaw  and  protect  it  from  rupture. 

HoLOPTYCiiius  ?  pusTULOSus,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XX,  Figs.  11,  11'. 

In  the  Chemung  group  at  Warren,  Pa.,  occur  many  large,  thick,  bony 
scales,  of  which  the  generic  relations  must  remain  doubtful  until  more  ma- 
terial shall  be  obtained.  These  scales  are  round,  ovoid,  or  elliptical  in 
outline,  the  largest  two  inches  in  the  longest  diameter,  one  and  a  half  inches 
in  the  shortest.  The  centi'al  portion  of  the  exterior  surface  carries  a  con- 
sidera'de  number  of  relatively  large,  round,  scattered  tubercles;  the  mar- 
gins being  plain  and  smooth.  By  these  characters  they  will  be  recognized 
wherever  found,  and  doubtless  in  time  much  more  will  be  known  about  the 
fishes  which  bore  them.  The  specimens  now  in  my  hands  I  owe  to  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Beecher,  who  collected  them  at  Warren,  Pa. 

HOLOPTYCHIUS    QEANULATUS,  n.  Sp. 
Plate  XX,  Fig.  9. 

Scales  circular  or  elliptical  in  outline,  one  and  a  half  inches  in  greater 
diameter;  covered  portion  smooth;  exposed  portion  closely  set  with  fine 
rounded  granules  of  enamel,  which  on  the  posterior  margin  are  arranged  in 
parallel  rows;  in  the  center  and  on  the  sides  are  promiscuously  aggregated. 

These  scales  are  not  unfrequently  found  in  the  Chemung  of  northern 


% 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAltB02;n.EltOUS  SYSTEM. 


lOi 


Pennsylvania,  but  as  yet  they  have  not  been  connected  with  any  bones 
which  are  decisive  of  their  generic  relations.  The  form  and  general  char- 
acter is  that  of  the  scales  of  Holoptychius,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  fish  which 
bore  them  must  be  related  to,  if  not  connected  with,  that  genus. 

HoLOPTYCniUS    TUBEECULATUS,    n.   sp. 
Plate  XIX,  Fig.  14. 

Among  the  fish  remains  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilley,  of  Le  Roy 
Bradford  County,  Pa.,  are  some  scales  of  Holoptychius,  which  seem  to  be 
different  from  any  heretofore  described.     They  are  round  or  eHiptical  in 
outline,  one  inch  to  one  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  and  have  the  poste- 
rior portion  occupied  by  coarse  round  or  elliptical  tubercles.     They  resem- 
ble some  of  the  scales  figured  by  Agassiz  ^  and  called  Holoptychius  <ju,antms, 
but  by  him  these  are  united  with  other  scales  that  sometimes  reach  a  diam- 
eter of  five  inches,  and  are  very  different  from  anything  we  have  yet  found 
in  America.     It  is  possible  that  our  tuberculated  'Holoptychius  was  identical 
with  that  which  carried  the  tuberculated  scales  in  Scotland,  but  if  both  the 
forms  of  //.  giyanteus  of  Agassiz  really  belonged  to  the  same  fish,  that  was 
different  from  ours.     If,  however,  the  tuberculated  form  is  a  distinct  species, 
It  may  prove  to  be  identical  with  ours,  and  would  therefore  take  the  name 
of  TL  tuherculatus.     It  will  be  noticed  that  the  tuberculated  scales  figured  by 
Agassiz  all  bear  enamel  ridges,  as  ours  do  not;  beside  this,  our  tuberculate.l 
scales  are  found  in  the  Chemung,  which  is  a  marine  deposit,  while  the  Old 
Red  Sandstone,  like  our  Catskill,  was  formed  in  fresh  water;  hence  the 
species  are  probably  all  different. 

Holoptychius  giganteus  ?  Ag. 
Plate  XIX,  Pigs.  16,  16. 

In  the  Catskill  rocks  at  Mansfield,  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  Mr.  Andrew 
Sherwood  has  found  some  detached  scales  of  Holoptychius  which  equal  in 
size  and  resemble  in  markings  those  which  were  described  by  Agassiz  under 
the  name  of  H.  Omntcus^JJ^p  to  thejresent  time  only  isolated  scales  of 

'  Mou.  de8  Poi»«ous  Fosailes,  etc.  (Old  Ked  Saiidst^rinr^li^a";^-^^ " 


102 


PALKOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTO  AMERICA. 


!l 


■\ 


these  great  fishes  have  been  found  in  Europe  or  America,  and  it  is  evident 
that  no  satisfactory  comparison  can  be  made  between  them  until  other  parts 
of  their  structure  shall  be  known.  To  stimulate  search  for  further  and  better 
material  I  have  thought  best  to  call  attention  to  these  great  scales  found  by 
Mr.  Sherwood  and  give  figures  of  them.  It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to 
these  figures  that  our  specimens  are  so  much  like  those  described  by  Agassiz' 
that  no  character  could  be  fixed  upon  which  would  serve  to  separate  them 
specifically.  I  have,  therefore,  provisionally  united  them,  leaving  to  those 
who  shall  be  fortunate  enough  to  find  something  more  than  these  detached 
fragments  to  furnish  unquestionable  evidence  of  identity  or  difference. 

Only  two  species  of  HohpUjchiiis  are  represented  in  our  collections  by 
portions  of  the  body  covered  with  scales  in  such  numbers  as  to  show  the 
range  of  size  and  variation  in  markings.  These  are  H.  American  us,  Leidy 
and  //.  IluUii,  Newb.  The  material  permits  these  species  to  be  fairly  well 
defined.  None  of  the  scales  are  tuberculated,  and  hence  they  may  be  con- 
sidered clearly  distinct  from  the  fishes  which  bore  the  tuberculated  scales, 
H.  tiiherculatus  and  //.  (ji(jj,nteus  ?  Whether  the  latter  two  species  do  not  run 
together  remains  to  be  shown  by  future  observations,  but  the  scales  of 
//.  tuherculati's  occur  only  in  the  Chemu.ig,  and  judging  from  the  specimens 
we  now  have  are  not  more  than  half  the  size  of  those  I  have  referred  to 
H.  giganteus. 

Helodus  gibberulus,  Ag. 

Among  the  fish  remains  collected  by  Mr.  Beecher  at  Warren,  Pa.,  are 
numerous  small,  polished,  pitted  teeth,  consisting  of  a  tumid,  subconical, 
central  dome,  with  a  low,  subsidiary  tubercle  on  either  side.  These  teeth 
I  have  been  unable  to  distinguish  from  those  received  from  Professor  Agas- 
siz,  representing  his  species  //.  gihherulus,  from  the  Mountain  limestone  of 
Armagh,  Ireland.  Similar  teeth  occur  in  considerable  numbers  in  the 
Waverly,  at  the  Miller  farm,  on  Oil  Creek,  Pa.,  and  in  the  Mountain  lime- 
stone of  Illinois  and  Indiana. 

With  teeth  so  small  and  simple  as  these  it  would  be  unwise  to  insist  on 
an  absolute  identity  of  species,  but  we  may  at  least  say  that  in  our  Che- 

'  Moil.  P()i8».  Vioux  Otim  Uouge,  pi.  24,  flgs.  a-10.  Oyrolepia  gigantem  Ag.;  Poiss.  Fo88.,vcl.  2, 
p   175,  1>1.  la,  ilg.  13. 


|i,       i_-r.^ „ 


FISHES  OF  THE  OAKBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM  103 

mung,  Waverly,  and  Carboniferous  Ihnestones  occur  teeth  that  cannot  be 
chstrnguished  fron>  the  equally  abundant  and  wide-spread  Hdodics  gihherulus 
of  the  British  Islands.  , 

Cladodus  carinatus,  n.  sp. 

In  the  collections  made  by  Messra.  Beecher  and  Randall  from  the  fish 
beds  at  Warren,  Pa.,  are  numerous  teeth  and  impressions  of  teeth  of  Clado- 
clus.  Nearly  all  these,  however,  are  too  imperfect  for  accurate  description. 
Ihey  apparently  represent  several  species,  but  they  are  very  much  decom- 
posed. One  small  species,  however,  collected  by  Mr.  Beecher,  is  better 
preserved,  and  is  so  peculiar,  that  it  deserves  special  notice.  It  is  less  than 
half  an  inch  in  breadth  and  height,  the  base  narrow,  and  bearing  one  central 
and  four  lateral  cones,  the  exterior  pair  larger  than  the  intermediate  ones, 
but  all  nmch  lower  than  the  central  denticle.  This  carries  the  characteristic 
feature  oi  the  species  ir  four  relatively  strong  carinations  on  the  flattened 
smtace.  Of  these  the  outer  two  are  short  and  low,  the  inner  two  rela- 
tively stronger  than  in  any  other  species  known  to  me. 

Cladodus  Eepleri,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XLIV,  Figs.  1,  2 ;  Plate  XLV. 

Fishes  three  to  six  feet  long  by  six  to  eight  inches  wide  at  the  pectoral 
fins;  body  long-fusiform,  as  broad  as  high;  upper  surtiice  covered  with 
shagreen,  composed  of  fine,  apparently  plain,  tubercles;  under  surface  near 
he.^  transversely  striated;  jaws  partially  ossified;  teeth  very  numerous, 
half  an  mch  m  height  and  breadth,  consisting  of  one  striated  median  cone 
with  one  lateral  denticle  on  either  side;  pectoral  fins  oblong,  conical, 
rounded  at  the  extremity,  five  inches  wide  by  eight  to  ten  inchea  Ion.., 
traversed  by  about  twenty  strong  unarticulated,  ossified  rays,  simple  below, 
torked  above ;  eyes  large,  cnpsules  bony. 

We  have  in  these  fishes  another  illustration  of  the  unusual  amount  of 
ossification  in  the  skeletons  of  certain  Carboniferous  sharks  to  which  I  have 
referred  elsewhere,  viz,  complete  ossification  of  the  rays  supporting  the 
lower  lobe  of  the  tail  in  the  large  selachian  found  bv  Mr.  Patterson  in  the 


104 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERIOA. 


IU> 


1! 


Berea  shale  at  Vanceburgli,  Ky.,  and  now  in  the  museum  at  Frankfort;  also 
the  partial  ossification  of  the  cranium  and  jaws  of  Diplodns,  as  shown  by  the 
specimens  obtained  by  Profes-^or  Cope  from  tlio  Upper  Carboniferous  of 
Texas  and  by  the  writer  from  the  cannel  coal  of  Linton,  Ohio.  Again,  it 
is  shown  by  the  ossification  of  the  rays  of  the  pectoral  fins  of  Ctcnncanthus 
Clarkii  of  the  Cleveland  shale,  and  in  the  ossification  of  the  jaws  of  Mazodus 
Kepleri  from  the  Berea  shale,  Berea.  Thongh  generally  considered  as  sela- 
chians and  having  certainly  strong  affinities  with  living  sharks,  the  bones  of 
the  cranium  and  tlie  jaws  of  these  fishes  are  better  ossified  than  those  of  most 
Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  sharks  and  than  those  of  the  present  day ;  while 
the  vertebral  centra,  following  the  common  and  inscrutable  law  of  progress 
visible  among  fishes,  have  become  more  and  more  ossified  in  later  ages 

Since  the  above  description  was  written  I  have  received  from  Prof 
William  Kepler  a  magnificent  specimen  of  this  fish,  which  enables  me  to 
make  the  description  somewhat  more  complete.  This  specimen  consists  of 
the  halves  of  a  flattened  calcareous  concretion,  which  includes  the  anterior 
half  of  the  body,  with  the  under  side  of  the  liead  and  pectoral  fins  very  sat- 
isfactorily shown.  The  muzzle  is  rounded,  the  mouth  terminal,  the  head 
eight  inches  long  by  six  inches  wide;  the  eye  capsules  are  elliptical  in  ont- 
line,  two  inches  in  the  longest  diameter ;  back  of  the  eye  are  rounded  plates, 
obscurely  defined,  which  look  as  though  they  represented  the  opercula  of 
the  Ganoids  and  Teleosts.  The  respiratory  slits  are  faintly  indicated,  but 
cannot  be  numbered;  the  interval  between  the  head  and  the  pectoral  fins  is 
occupied  by  the  remains  of  a  fibrous  integument  of  which  the  fibers  were 
transverse ;  the  pectoral  fins  are  eight  inches  long  by  five  inches  wide  at  the 
base,  are  very  clearly  defined,  are  widely  expanded  and  have  a  reach  of 
twenty-two  inches  from  tip  to  tip ;  the  basal  cartilages  are  but  obscurely 
shown.  They  seem  to  have  formed  meta,  mesa,  and  propterygia,  but  this 
cannot  beasserted  without  further  proof  The  structure  of  the  fin  was  evi- 
dently simpler  than  that  of  sharks  now  living,  but  on  the  same  plan.  We 
see  nothing  of  the  axial  arrangement  called  archiptery/jium  by  Gegenbauer, 
so  common  in  the  ancient  Ganoids,  and  surviving  in  Ceratodus.     . 

Formation  and  locality :  Cleveland  shale ;  Brooklyn,  Ohio. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


105 


CxENACANTnUU   RaNDALLI,  11.  Sp. 

Dorsal  fin-spines  twelve  inclien  or  more  in  length  by  one  and  a  half 
inclies  in  width  at  base  of  ornamenled  portion  ;  form  slightly  curved  back- 
ward, sides  compressed,  basal  portion  conical,  smooth,  or  finely  striated 
longitudinally ;  line  of  demarkation  between  ornamented  surface  and  base 
strongly  marked,  inclined  downwai'd  and  forward  at  an  angle  of  30°  with 
the  axis  of  the  spine;  ornamented  surface  nefr  base  formed  by  about  forty 
fine,  parallel,  subequsil,  closely  crovi^ded  ridges  on  each  side  of  the  median 
line,  and  these  bear  small,  rounded,  closely  approximated  tubercles. 

The  basal  portion  of  a  large  spine,  showing  about  two  inches  of  the 
ornamented  surface,  is  the  basis  of  the  above  description.  This  was  ob- 
tained from  the  Olean  Conglomerate,  two  miles  northeast  of  Warren,  Pa., 
by  Mr.  F.  A.  Randall.  Several  much  more  peifect  specimens  have  been 
found  in  that  vicinity,  but  they  have  been  sent  to  Philadelphia  and  are  not 
within  my  reach.  Better  material  will  be  needed  for  a  complete  description; 
but  enough  is  shown  in  the  specimen  now  described  to  prove  this  spine 
distinct  from  any  other  known.  In  the  character  of  its  surface  markings 
this  species  resembles  Ctenacanthus  tenuistriatus,  Ag.  and  Ct.  spcciosus,  St.  J. 
&  W.,  but  diffex's  from  both  these  in  its  nan-ower  form  and  the  character  of 
the  ornamentation  of  its  surface.  In  Ct.  tenuistriatus  the  ridges  are  separated 
by  spaces  as  wide  as  themselves,  whereas  in  the  species  inider  consideration 
they  are  for  the  most  part  contiguous  or  separated  by  very  narrow  furrows. 
In  the  former  species  also  the  ridges  along  the  anterior  border  are  nuich 
wider  than  on  the  sides,  whereas  in  Ct.  BamlaHi  they  are  of  nearly  uniform 
size  throughout.  The  tuberculation  in  the  present  species  is  very  simple ; 
rounded  papilla;,  separated  by  spaces  but  little  greater  than  tlieir  diameters, 
are  set  regularly  along  the  summits  of  the  ridges,  while  in  Ct.  tenuistriatus 
and  in  Ct.  speciosus  the  tuberculation  consists  of  transverse  ridges,  as  is 
most  common  in  the  genus. 

The  general  aspect  of  this  spine  must  have  been  similar  to  that  from 
the  St.  Louis  limestone  described  elsewhere  in  this  memoir  under  the  name 
of  Ctenacanthus  Littoni,  but  the  ridges  are  in  that  species  fewer  and  the 
tuberculation  is  much  stronger  and  more  crowded. 


106 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Skction  B. — Fishes  op  the  Catskill  Group. 

Tlie  Catskill  formation  took  its  namo  from  tlio  Catskill  Mountains, 
which  are  in  larfjo  part  composed  of  it.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  conglom- 
erates, sandstones,  and  shales,  of  which  the  prevailing  color  is  red,  and  the 
thickness  in  southern  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  is  not  less  than  5,000  to 
^,000  feet.  The  area  occupied  by  the  formation  is  not  largo.  It  reaches 
souihward  along  the  Alleghanies  into  Virginia,  but  does  not  pass  westward 
beyond  the  limits  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  In  its  lithological  char- 
acters (all  land-vva.sh)  and  its  limited  area  it  resembles  the  Trias  of  the 
eastern  United  States  and  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  Scotland,  and  there 
are  many  reasons  for  believing  that,  like  these  formations,  it  v/as  deposited 
in  a  circumscribed  body  of  fresh  water. 

Aside  from  the  tishes  it  contains — which  are  for  the  most  part  generic- 
ally  identical  with  those  of  the  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstone — comparatively 
few  fossils  have  been  found  in  the  Catskill;  these  are  land  plants  (ferns, 
Lepidodcmlm,  and  Sifjillaria)  and  fresh  water  shells  (Anodonta).  The  most 
cothmoi  ferns  belong  to  the  genus  Archceoptc.ris  (formerly  included  in  Cy- 
doptcris  and  Palcoj)teris),  which  is  very  characteristic  of  the  Upper  Devo- 
nian and  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks. 

From  these  facts  and  others  which  might  be  cited  we  may  fairly  con- 
clude that  the  Catskill  rocks  were  deposited  in  a  fresh-water  lake,  which 
lay  immediately  along  the  west  base  of  the  ancient  land  now  represented 
by  the  Highlands  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  and  their  southern  con- 
tinuation, the  Blue  Ridge.  Just  how  far  this  lake  extended  north  and  south 
we  do  not  know,  but  apparently  not  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  while 
its  breadth  from  east  to  west  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty.  I  have 
elsewhere  given  my  reasons  for  considering  the  Chemung  group,  which 
immediately  underlies  the  Catskill,  as  the  base  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 
This  was  not  the  classification  originally  adopted  by  the  New  York  geolo- 
gists, but  since  their  schedule  was  made  up  many  new  facts  have  come  to 
light  which  have  led  me  to  adopt  the  views  now  presented. 

The  Catskill  also  was  formerly  attached  to  the  Devonian  system,  but 
there  is  no  other  reason  than  conservatism  for  this  usage.     We  know,  of 


PISUES  OF  THE  CARBON IFEUOUS  SYSTEM. 


107 


course,  that  the  stream  of  time  flowed  steadily  on  throii<:fh  tlie  geological 
ages;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  over  vast  areas  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face constant  marine  conditions  have  prevailed,  and  there  the  stream  of  life 
flowed  on  without  break,  and  the  geological  record  nnist  be  without  chap- 
ters or  sections.  But  from  time  to  time  the  sea  overflowed  its  banks,  and 
left  landmarks  which  form  convenient  division  lines  of  history.  Such  an 
event  occurred  t  the  close  of  the  Hamilton  age  and  the  beginning  of  the 
Chemung.  It  seems  to  me  more  natural,  therefore,  to  consider  the  latter 
the  introduction  of  a  new  age,  the  Carboniferous.  In  regard  to  the  Catskill 
there  is  less  difi'erence  of  opinion,  and  it  is  now  quite  generally  referred  to 
the  Carboniferous  age. 

The  first  notice  of  the  remains  of  fishes  in  the  Catskill  group  was 
published  by  Prof  James  Hall.*  In  this  paper  are  figured  the  scales  of  a 
species  of  Hohptychius,  considered  identical  with  //.  nohU'issinms,  Ag.,  from 
the  Scotch  Old  Red  Sandstone.  It  is,  however,  a  distinct  though  closely 
allied  species,  the  scales  of  tho  American  fish  being  not  more  than  half  the 
size  of  the  Scotch,  ami  having  smoother  and  more  continuous  enameled 
ridges  than  those  of  the  type  sjiecimen.^ 

Later  (18.56)  Prof  Joseph  Leidy  described'  a  number  of  fish  remains 
from  the  Catskill  of  northern  Pennsylvania,  among  others  the  scales  and 
part  of  a  cranial  plate  of  this  fish,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Holoptychius 
Americanns.  Some  conical  teeth  having  striated  bases  and  a  circular  section 
were  .also  referred  to  Holoptychius,  but  the  relationship  is  uncertain,  inasnmch 
as  they  were  not  found  in  connection,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  teeth 
belong  to  some  other  one  of  the  several  Ganoid  fishes  associated  with  Holop- 
tychius in  the  Catskill  rocks.  Professor  Leidy  also  referred  to  Holoptychius 
a  scale  or  plate,*  of  which  the  exterior  surface  is  covered  with  tubercles 
arranged  in  flexuous  and  confused  lines.  This  we  now  know  is  not  a  scale, 
properly  speaking,  but  a  dermal  plate  of  a  difi'erent  fish,  which  has  left 
abundant  remains  in  the  Catskill,  and  which  I  have  considered  a  species  of 
Bothriolepis. 

•  Nat.  Hist.  New  York,  pt.  4,  Geology,  184:i,  i>.  280,  wood  cut  130,  figs.  1,  2,  3. 
'Mod,  des  Poissons  Fossiles,  etc.  (Old  Red  Suudstono),  pi.  23. 
^Joiir.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Pliila.,  2d  series,  vol.  3,  p.  VSR. 
<Ibid.,  pi.  17,  fig.  4. 


108 


PALEOZOIC  FISIIE3  OP  NOUTH  AMERIOA. 


Tho  conical,  compressed,  aiu-ipitul  tooth  found  in  tlio  same  beds  and 
described'  by  Professor  Leidy  under  tlie  name  Aprdodiis,  resembles  some 
of  the  teeth  of  Suiiriptcris  Tai/lori,  and  may  have  belonged  to  that  fish. 
Professor  ZitteP  includes  Apedodus  Leidy  in  Jlhhodns,  but  no  traces  of 
that  genus  have  boon  found  in  tho  Ciitskill  rocks,  wliilo  detached  ftriated 
toetli  rosembling  tliose  of  Jfniopli/chius  and  Saiiripteris  are  not  uncommon. 
I  am  therefore  of  tho  opinion  that  they  should  be  referred  to  these  genera 
and  not  to  Ehi^odua. 


is 


Order  PLACODERMI. 
Genus  liOTIIRIOLEPIS,  Eichw.    . 

A  very  considerable  number  of  specimens  of  what  is  apparently  a 
species  of  Tiothriolcpis  have  been  found  in  the  Catskill  rocks  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania;  also  a  less  number  of  fragments  of  a  smaller  species  in 
tho  Chemung  group  of  tho  same  region.  They  consist  for  the  moat  part 
of  body  plates  dismembered  and  scattered,  and  the  arms  in  a  better  or 
worse  state  of  preservation.  Tlio  arms  are  frecpiently  seen  articulated 
with  the  anterior  ventral  plate  as  in  Fterichthys.  Each  one  is  a  compressed 
triangle  in  section,  the  base  toward  tho  body,  the  apex  turned  outward  and 
forming  a  sharp  keel,  which  is  set  with  prominent  enameled  tubercles. 
Usually  only  the  upper  three  or  four  inches  of  this  organ  are  preserved; 
this  part  seems  to  have  been  a  solid  and  homogeneous  rod  of  cartilage  covered 
with  several  articulating  jdates  of  enameled  bone.  It  rapidly  narrows  below, 
and  at  first  sight  would  be  thought  to  constitute  the  entire  organ,  but 
spliced  on  to  its  conical  extremity  was  a  sharp  and  rather  slender  spine  two 
inches  or  more  in  lengtli.  This  is  covered  with  small  articuiatnig  plates 
above  and  is  longitudinally  striated  below.  It  cames  on  the  outer  edge  a 
series  of  relatively  strong,  acute  denticles. 

The  ventral  armor  of  Bothriohpis  apparently  consisted  of  five  jdates  as 
in  Pterichthys,  and  of  these  the  outer  surface  is  ornamented  with  vermicular 
furrows  separated  by  narrower  ridges.  These  furrows  are  sometimes  con- 
tinuous, sometimes  interrapted  forming  pits  of  which  the  bottoms  Jire  often 

'Jour.  Ac8<l.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  p.  Ui4,  pi.  17,  figs.  5,  6. 
'Hundbuch  der  PaliBoutologie,  Abtheil.  1,  vol,  3,  part  1,  p.  188. 


FISHKH  OF  TIIR  CARHONrFKUOUH  8YSTKM. 


109 


pierced  by  minute  orifices;  in  sliort,  prociHely  the  Hurfiico  Tiiiirlvini^s*  shown 
in  the  figures  juui  descriptions  given  by  Agassi/,  in  his  Old  ]{ed  Siuidstono 
Fishes.     The  armor  of  tlie  up{)er  side  of  the  body  consisted  of  a  series  of 
polygonal  scutes,  which  have  never  yet  been  found  in  position,  and  there- 
fore nothing  positive  can  bo  said  in  reference  to  their  nunjber  and  arrange- 
ment.    Ill  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  Mr.  A.idrew  Sherwood  has  f»l)tained  at  one 
locality  hundreds  if  not  thousiinds  of  these  plates  of  iMlinnhim  Le'ulyi, 
crowded  together  as  though  they  hud  been  the  numerous  scal.ts  of  some 
relatively   largo   fish.     According    to  Eichwald  the    body  of  Bo(/inol(pi.i 
was  covered  with  scutes,  which  he  supposed  to  have  been  arranged  in 
rows  like  the  plates  of  the  sturgeon,  and  such  was  the  belief  of  Agassiz ; 
but  in  the  important  j)aper  "On  the  Structure  and  Cla.ssification  of  the 
Asterolepida!,"  published  by  Dr.  R  JI.  Tracjuair  in  the  Annals  and  Maga- 
zine of  Natural  History  for  December,  1888,  Both tiak pis  is  described  as 
having  essentially  the  same  structure  as  Ptcrklithfs,  and  differing  from  that 
genus  only  by  a  few  minor  characters,  which  render  it  rather  diflicult  to 
distinguish  them.     The  material  yet  ol)tained  in  the  United  States,  all  of 
which  I  have  passed  in  review,  is  too  fragmentary  to  give  much  assistance 
in  the  settlement  of  this  question ;  but  it  is  (piite  certain  that  where  hun- 
dreds aiul  thousands  of  fragments  of  the  defensive  armor  of  Bothnolepis 
occur,  as  they  do  in  the  Catskill  of  Tioga  County  and  the  Chemung  of 
Bradford  Comity,  Pa.,  individuals  ultimately  will  be  found  in  so  good  pres- 
ervation as  to  harmoniae  the  diverse  views  which  have  been  ente'-tained  in 
regard  to  these  singular  fishes. 

One  remarkable  feature  in  Bothriokpis  is  the  peculiar  joint  by  which 
the  pectoral  spine  articulates  with  the  body,  and  which  shows  essentially 
the  same  structure  that  we  find  in  the  Siluroids  of  the  present  day. 

Most  persons  are  familiar  with  the  complicated  and  effective  articula- 
tion of  the  pectoral  fins  in  our  catfishes  (Amitirus).  The  arched  head  of 
the  spine  moves  freely  in  a  groove  through  an  arc  of  about  ninety  degrees, 
and  is  protected  by  guanas,  which  prevent  lateral  motion  and  fix  it  firmly  at 
the  will  of  the  fish  at  the  point  of  greatest  possible  extension  from  the  body. 
In  some  of  the  Siluroids  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  spine  from  its  socket 
without  fracture,  even  when  the  soft  parts  have  all  been  removed.     The 


88 


no 


PALKOZOir  FISilES  OF  NOIITH  AMEItlCA. 


*|i 


Hj)lne  \H  flattoued,  and  wlusii  oxtoiulod  itH  odgo  !«  turned  forward  ho  uh  not 
to  iin|)edo  tlio  paHmigo  of  tlio  fisli  tln-ougli  the  water.  Ah  tlio  fin  Ih  foldod 
it  tnniH,  proHentinjf  itH  flat  nido  and  tlio  wob  of  tlio  fin  to  tlio  water,  to  facili- 
tate pro|)ulHion.  In  liolhtinlcpU  the  pectoral  Hpino  in  alno  flat  and  must 
have  revolved  in  the  Haino  way;  the  articulation  was  also  very  firm,  and 
the  Hpine  in  unually  found  in  connection  with  the  platOH  or  boues  which 
formed  the  socket. 

Tho  peculiar  laminated  Htructnro  of  the  articulatinfif  head  of  the  pectoral 
Hpine  in  Ptcriclitlii/.i  and  liol/iriolrpis — li;furod  tlnju^j^h  not  mentioned  by 
Agassiz  and  Pander — seems  to  have  been  precisely  the  same  as  in  Plecos- 
tomua,  J'hracfoirplKihin,  and  other  plated  Siluroids,  and  ia  visible  in  Pimdodus. 
'I'liis  strengthens  the  suggestion  of  l*rofo.s8or  Huxley,  that  the  IMacoderms 
are  genetically  related  to  the  phited  Siluroids  of  our  present  day.  The 
points  of  similarity  which  led  him  to  suspect  a  relationship  between  them 
were  mainly  in  the  defoiisivo  armor  and  tlut  structure  of  the  shoulder  girdle. 
To  these  1  now  add  the  striking  analogy  in  mechanical  arrangement  and 
identity  of  microscopical  structure  in  the  pectoral  spine  and  its  articulation. 
It  seems  impossible  that  all  these  coincidences  could  have  been  produced 
by  anything  but  inheritance. 

Prof.  E.  D.  Cope,  in  the  American  Naturalist  for  March,  1885,  jjroposes 
a  new  theory  of  the  zoological  relations  of  Pterichtlii/s,  namely,  that  it  was 
a  Tunicate  allied  to  Chclj/osoma.  With  the  abundant  proofs  of  the  relation- 
ship of  Plcnchthijs  to  Bothriolt'pis,  Asiiidklithi/s,  Ilohncma,  aiid  the  other 
members  of  the  family  Ptciiclithkltv,  it  is  evident  they  must  be  grouped 
together,  and  the  ichthyic  character  of  Pterkhthys  is  settled  by  the  preser- 
vation in  many  instances  of  a  tail  covered  with  scales  connected  with  the 
carapace.  It  is  true  that  in  the  Canadian  species  of  Pterichthys  {P.  Cana- 
densis, Whiteaves),  of  which  so  many  individuals  have  been  found  in  excel- 
lent preservation,  no  evidence  of  a  caudal  extension  of  the  body  has  been 
seen ;  probably  for  the  reason  that  ii  was  not  scaled,  but  simply  covered 
with  a  skin,  like  Pohjodon  among  the  generally  plated  Chondrostei. 

Two  species  of  Bathriolcpis  seem  to  have  left  their  remains  in  tho  Che- 
mung and  Catskill  rocks  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania;  one,  that  just 
referred  to,  from  the  Catskill,  and  another  with  smaller  and  more  finely 


FI811K8  OF  TilK  CAUIJONIFKUOIJH  HVHTKM. 


Ill 


marked,  })iit  in  other  respectH  Hitniliir,  pIiiteH  in  the  (Jheniung,     Of  these 
species  I  append  the  diuKnoHtic  characters, 

JkviHKioLKr'iH  Lkiuyi,  n.  sp. 

riato  XVIIl,  Fii;.  2;  Pl.ito  XX,  FIrh.  l-fi. 

Form  niid  dinionsionH  of  the  body  nnknown  ;  Hurfaco  covered  with  a 
number  of  anffuhir,  chwoly  approximated,  enameled  phitcH,  which  are  ellip- 
tical, subtriangular,  or  oblouf-'  in  otitlir  ),  and  from  one  and  a  half  to  three 
inches  in  Ici'gth  by  one  to  two  inches  wide;  the  exterior  snrface  is  wladly 
occupied  by  a  series  of  vermicular  furrows  or  lines  of  hopi)er-shaped  con- 
nectin*,'  pits,  which  are  often  pierced  or  punctate  at  the  bottom  ;  this  surface 
is  als(»  ornamented  by  tln-oo  incised  lines,  which  divcrj^e  fron)  the  center  to 
the  middle  respectively  of  the  posterior  and  the  postero-lateral  margins  ;  the 
inside  of  most  of  these  plates  carries  a  prominent  keel  alon<r  its  central  line 
for  two-thirds  of  its  lenj^th. 

Uesidos  these,  the  more  common  form  of  plates,  there  are  others  which 
are  nnicli  more  hi<^lily  arched  and  doubtless  covered  the  lateral  -urfaces  of 
the  body.  The  head,  but  imperfectly  shown  in  our  specimen,  was  appar- 
ently much  like  that  of  /'lerichthi/s,  viz,  was  rounded  in  outline,  stronjrly 
arched,  and  was  covered  with  a  series  of  polygonal  plates  with  a  diunli-boll 
aperture  in  the  center.  The  pectoral  organ  was  also  similar  to  that  of 
Ptcnchthys  in  form  and  markin<rs;  it  was  from  four  to  six  inches  in  len«'th 
terminatipfT  above  in  ahemisi)herical  smooth  liead,  composed  of  dense  bony 
tissue,  exhibiting-  a  peculiar  laminated  structure.  The  proximal  element  is 
from  one-half  to  three-cpmrters  of  an  inch  wide,  gently  curved  and  rr)unded 
or  blunt-])ointed  at  the  extremity ;  the  surface  was  formed  by  a  series  of 
angular  plates,  carry ifig  the  same  ornamentation  as  the  body  plates.  The 
distal  portion  was  a  'ender  spine  articulating  with  or  anchyloscd  to  the 
upper  portion,  and  was  doubtless  used  as  an  organ  of  defense.  At  its  base 
the  surface  was  formed  by  a  number  of  small  plates ;  toward  the  sunnnit  it 
is  longitudinally  striated.  The  point  is  sharp,  and  the  outer  margin  is  set 
with  a  row  of  relatively  strong,  acute,  recurved  denticles.  This  spine  has 
been^described  by  Dr.  Leidy  under  the  name  of  Stenacanihus  nitidus} 

'Jour.  Acad.  Not.  8oi.,  Pbila.,  2(1  series,  vol.  :i,  priiM,  pi   16,  ttg.  8,  — — 


112 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


hi 

■   5 ;  \ 


I 


r! 


i  i 


Formation  and  locality  :  CatskiU  group ;  Mansfield,  Tioga  County,  Pa. 
Colkcted  by  Andrew  Sherwood. 

BoTunioLEPis  MINOR,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XX,  Fig,  6-^. 

Body  plates  elliptical  or  angulfr  in  outline,  from  half  an  inch  to  one 
and  a  half  inches  in  longest  diameter,  many  hexagonal,  but  longer  than 
broad ;  under  surface  often  carrying  a  strong  keel  along  the  central  line ; 
the  outer  surface  covered  with  fine,  closely  crowded,  vermicular  furrows, 
and  also  by  divergent  lines  passing  from  the  center  to  the  middle  of  the 
three  posterior  margins. 

This  species  is  distinguished  from  the  preceding  one  by  the  smaller 
size  of  the  plates  and  the  very  much  finer  ornamentation  of  the  surfoce. 
The  material  which  I  have  representing  it  includes  no  portion  of  the  head 
or  arms,  and  therefore  no  extended  comparison  can  be  made.  The  two 
speci3s,  however,  occur  at  different  horizons,  and  are  represented  by  hun- 
dreds of  plates,  all  of  which  may  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  by  the  diff'er- 
ence  in  the  surface  ornamentation.  A  species  similar  to  this,  and  perhaps 
identical  with  it,  has  been  found  by  M.  Loliest  in  the  Psammite  de  Condroz, 
near  Liege,  Belgium. 

Formation  a,id  locality.  Chemung  group;  Le  Roy,  Bradford  County, 
Pa.    Collectedby  Mr.  A.T.  LiUey. 


It  ' 


Order    CROSSOPTERYGIDiE. 

Genus  WAURIPTERIS,  Hall 

In  his  notice  of  the  Catskill  fishes  of  New  York'  Professor  Hall  de- 
scribes a  portion  of  the  shoulder  girdle,  a  pectoral  fin,  and  some  scales  of  a 
large  fish  found  near  Blostjburgh,  Pa.,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Satirip- 
teris  Taylori.  Having  recently  had  an  opportunity,  tlirough  the  courtesy  of 
Prof  R.  P.  Whitfield,  of  examining  the  original  specimens  figured  by  Pro- 
fessor Hall,  and  many  otiiers  obtained  with  them,  now  forming  part  of  the 
collection  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  1  am  able  to  con- 

'  Nat.  Hist.  New  York,  pt.  4,  Geology,  p.  282,  pi.  3. 


..Jti 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAltIiONH<'EuOUS  SYSTEM. 


113 


film  the  conclusions  of  Professor  Hall  in  re^^ard  to  the  specific,  if  not  gen- 
eric, distinctness  of  this  fish,  and  can  add  something  to  his  description. 

Tiie  pectoi-al  fin  figured  by  Professor  Hall  is  too  imperfect  for  satisfac- 
tory study,  but  it  was  probably  in  part  covered  with  scales  (lobed)  like  the 
paired  fins  of  Holoptychius.  The  scales  have  the  same  general  character 
with  those  of  that  genus;  that  is,  they  are  circular,  subquadrate,  or  elliptical 
in  outline,  from  one  and  a  quarter  to  two  and  a  half  inches  in  greatest 
diameter,  the  covered  portion  beautifully  reticulated  with  large  elongated 
meshes,  the  exposed  portion  thickly  set  with  fine  conical  or  rounded 
gramiles,  generally  without  linear  arrangement.  'Yh&  external  surfaces  of 
the  bones  composing  the  pectoral  arch,  as  well  as  those  of  the  head,  are 
ornamented  with  short,  strong,  flexuous,  enameled  ridges,  and  rounded  or 
triangular  tubercles.  The  jaws  are  set  with  conical,  compressed,  striated 
teeth,  resembling  that  described  by  Professor  Leidy  under  the  name  of 
Apedodus.  The  external  surface  of  the  dentary  bone  is  for  the  most  part 
occupied  with  fine  granulations  like  those  of  the  scales,  but  more  widely  sepa- 
rated. Toward  the  lower  border  the  ornamentation  is  coarser  and  similar 
to  that  upon  the  clavicles ;  the  surface  of  some  of  the  head  bon-^s  is  granu- 
lated like  the  scales. 

The  general  structure  of  Sauripteris  is  essentially  that  of  Holoptjfchius, 
and  it  would  not  be  at  all  surprising  if  the  discovery  of  more  complete 
material  would  compel  the  union  of  the  two  genera. 

Holoptychius  Americanus,  Leidy. 
Plate  XIX,  Figs.  12,  13. 
The  scales  to  which  the  above  name  was  given  by  Dr.  Leidy  had  been 
previously  regarded  as  identical  with  those  of  Holoptychius  nobiUssimus, 
Ag.,  of  the  Scotch  Old  Red  Sandstone.  This  is  not  surprising,  for  some  of 
the  scales  from  the  caudal  portion  of  the  body  of  H.  mUlissimus  are  undis- 
tinguishable  from  these  in  size,  form,  and  markings;  but,  as  anyone  can  see 
from  a  glance  at  the  magnificent  plate  given  of  this  species  by  Agassiz,! 
most  of  the  scales  have  a  reticulated  marking  quite  different  from  any  yet 
found  in  this  country.     Hence  it  is  certain  that  Dr.  Leidy's  species  is  not 

'  Mon.  (IPS  Poi88on8  Focsilpg,  pic.  (Ol.I  Red  Snmlstono),  pi.  3;». 
MON  XVI S 


;    ( 
i 


HBB 


114 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


il 


ill'lj 


!J   si 


■  i 


-i 


J 


i 


identical  with  H.  nobilissimus.  Among  Agasslz's  figures  of  the  scales  of 
Holoptychius  in  his  Old  Red  Sandstone  Fishes,  are  two  very  different  kinds, 
wh\ch  he  combines,  probably  because  he  found  them  running  together, 
under  the  name  of  //.  guiantcus.  One  ^  of  these  has  almost  precisely  the 
ornamentation  of  the  scales  of  //.  Anwricanus;  that  is,  a  series  of  strong, 
flexuous,  sometimes  inosculating  but  subparallel  ridges  running  from  the 
interior  to  the  posterior  border.  Another  form,  there  represented  by  figs.  3, 
4,  and  8,  has  most  of  the  ornamented  surface  occupied  by  coarse,  rounded 
tubercles ;  the  middle  portion  only  carrying  short  ridges  mixed  with  tuber- 
cles. It  is  evident  that  we  have  here  two  strongly  marked  varieties,  which 
without  any  great  stretch  of  tlie  Imagination  could, be  considered  as  dis- 
tinct species.  This  latter  j:upposition  is  favored  by  the  fact  that  in  some 
cases  the  ridged  type  of  scale  referred  to  above  seems  to  have  covered  the 
entire  body,  and  I  have  seen  similar  scales  from  fne  Scotch  Old  Red  Sand- 
stone nearly  three  inches  in  diameter.  Precisely  such  scales  as  tiiese,  but 
never  more  than  half  as  large,  are  common  in  the  Catskill  rocks,  and  repre- 
sent Dr.  Leidy's  H.  Americanus.  Larger  scales  from  the  Chemung,  nearly 
two  inches  in  diameter,  have  a  coarser  ornamentation,  consisting  of  mingled 
ridges  and  tubercles,  and  these  I  have  made  the  type  of  a  new  species  H. 
tuberculattis. 

HoLOPTYCHius  Hallii,  n.  sp, 

Plate  XX,  Figs.  lO-lO". 

Fishes,  two  to  three  feet  in  length  by  six  to  eight  inches  in  width ; 
head  unknown ;  pectoral  fins  conical  in  outline,  five  inches  long  by  two 
inches  wide  at  base,  pointed,  acute,  strongly  lobed ;  central  portion  three 
inches  long  by  half  an  inch  broad,  covered  with  scales  and  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  a  margin  of  fin  rays;  ventral  fins  midway  between  pectoral  and 
anal;  two  dorsal  fins,  first  dorsal  opposite  space  between  ventrals  and  anal, 
second  dorsal  slightly  behind  anal,  both  of  these  reaching  back  to  caudal ; 
caudal  fin  broadly  triangular  in  outline;  poster'c.'  margin  riearly  vertical, 
arched,  about  five  inches  in  height  in  a  fish  2  feet  long;  lower  lobe  very 
broad ;  prolongation  of  body  turned  upward  and  fringed  on  the  upper  side 
with  rays  about  one  inch  in  length;  scales  circular  in  outline,  closely  imbri- 

'  Mou.  den  PoigdODs  Foasiles,  etc.  (Old  Red  Sandatone),  pi.  '<S4,  fig.  2. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CAEBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


115 


cated  over  the  entire  bodj' ;  on  tlie  anterior  and  middle  portions  one  inch 
and  at  base  of  caudal  fin  one  half  inch  in  diameter ;  exposed  portion  occu- 
pied by  broad,  flattened,  striated,  radiating,  or  reticulated  ridges;  on  the 
sides  and  anterior  portion  of  the  body  the  scale- markings  are  finer,  more 
numerous,  and  parallel. 

Only  one  specimen  of  this  fish  is  yet  known.  It  was  found  near  Delhi, 
N.  Y.,  and  was  presented  many  years  since  to  the  State  cabinet  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Fitch.  This  specimen  wants  the  head,  but  in  the  two  pieces  which  rep- 
resent it  nearly  all  of  the  body  from  the  base  of  the  pectoral  fins  is  shown. 
The  form  is  in  a  general  way  similar  to  that  of  the  restoration  of  Holopty- 
cUus  given  by  Huxley  in  his  essay  upon  the  fishes  of  the  Devonian  epoch,  ^ 
but  the  body  is  less  symmetrically  narrowed  posteriorly  and  the  extension 
of  the  scaled  portion  is  abruptly  turned  upward  at  the  base  of  the  caudal 
fin.  All  of  the  fins  are  also  broader  and  more  rounded  than  in  the  figure 
cited.  The  ornamentation  of  the  scales  is  in  general  similar  to  that  of  sev- 
eral desci-ibed  species  of  HoloptycMus,  especially  that  of  H.  noUUssimus  and 
H.  Murchisoni,  but  no  portion  of  the  surface  bears  granulations  or  tubercles, 
and  the  flattened  ridges  are  elaborately  ornamented  with  waved  and  inos- 
culating thread-lines  The  scales  seem  to  have  been  smaller  and  thinner 
than  those  of  ^.  Am^ricanus,  which  are  so  common  in  the  Catskill  rocks, 
and  the  surface  marking  is  less  strong  and  parallel. 

The  type  specimen  of  this  species  is  in  the  State  Museum  at  Albany, 
where  it  will  serve  as  a  standard  of  comparison  with  other  remains  of 
fishes  which  are  likely  to  be  gathered  in  considerable  numbers  from  the 
Catskill  rocks  To  the  courtesy  of  Professor  Hall,  the  director  of  the  mu- 
seum, I  am  indebted  for  an  opportunity  of  examining  and  describing  it,  and 
I  take  pleasure  in  attaching  his  name  to  the  only  species  of  which  any 
considerable  portion  of  the  body  has  yet  been  obtained  in  North  America. 

HOLOPTYCHIUS    ?   BADIATUS,  n.  Sp. 
Plate  XX,  Figs.  12-14. 

Body  two  feet  or  more  in  length,  fusiform,  covered  with  relatively 
small,  round,  or  elliptical  highly  orntimented  scales.     Of  these  the  covered 

■  Memoirs  Oeol.  Survey  United  Kingdom,  Decadelo,  1861,  p.  5^  ~~ 


i! 


116 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEKICA. 


!    1 
i    \ 

!'  ! 


portion  is  smooth,  wliilo  tbe  exposed  part,  forming  from  one-tliird  to  one- 
half  the  area,  is  occnpied  by  a  series  of  sliarply  defined  thread-like  ridges 
radiating  from  the  central  point.  These  ridges  vary  from  ten  to  fifteen  in 
number;  are  sometimes  all  simple  and  nearly  straight;  more  frequently 
some  of  them  are  dichotomously  forked. 

Scattered  scales  of  this  fish  are  not  uncommon  in  the  Catskill  rocks, 
but  no  entire  specimen  has  yet  been  found.  Whether  this  really  belongs 
to  the  genus  Ilolopt/jchius  remains  to  be  proved,  but  it  was  evidently  a 
closely  allied  Crossoi)teiygian. 

The  size,  form,  and  markings  of  the  scales  are  perhaps  more  like  those 
o{  Gli/2)toIc2)is  than  those  of  most  species  of  Iloloptychim,  but  we  have  as 
yet  no  evidence  that  Glijptohpis  ever  inhabited  tlie  waters  of  North.  America. 
This  question  will  doubtless  be  solved  by  future  discovery. 

Glyptopomus  Sayrei,  Newb. 

Plate  XVIII,  Fig.  1. 

Olyptopomua  Sayrei,  Newb.:  Aim.  N.  Y.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  1,  p.  1^9. 

Fish  fusiform,  about  two  feet  in  length  by  five  inches  in  diameter; 
head  triangular  in  outline,  five  inches  in  length  and  brea^ith ;  cranial  plates 
unknown;  under  side  of  the  head  covered  by  two  large  sigmoidally  elliptic 
jugular  plates,  bordered  by  a  row  of  five  (!)  lateral  jugulars,  of  which  the 
anterior  is  linear  in  outline,  broadest  behind;  the  middle  three  are  rhom- 
boidal;  the  posterior  is  spatulate  and  the  largest  of  the  series;  the  pectoral 
fins  are  elliptic  in  outline,  narrow  at  the  base,  which  is  without  fin  rays; 
central  portion  covered  with  scales  and  bordered  by  a  margin  of  rays  that 
become  longer  toward  the  extremity;  posterior  fins  unknown;  scales  rhom- 
boidal  or  quadrangular,  smooth  beneath,  strongly  marked  on  the  outer 
surface  with  pits  or  short,  curved,  vermicular  furrows  divided  by  sinuous 
ridges. 

The  only  specimen  of  this  fish  yet  found  was  taken  from  a  quarry  on 
the  Susquehanna  River,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mehoopany,  which  supplied 
the  stone  for  a  dam  on  the  former  river.  It  was  procured  by  a  railroad 
engineer,  from  whom  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Robert  H.  Sayre,  and 


PISHES  UF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


117 


was  by  him  placed  in  tlie  cabinr^  of  Lehigh  University.  It  was  evidently 
derived  from  the  Catskill  group,  and  represents  a  genus  and  species  not 
before  met  with  in  America. 

Only  the  under  surface  of  the  head  and  the  anterior  half  of  the  body 
are  shown  in  the  specimen  referred  to  above.  This  displays  very  well 
the  plates  which  cover  the  under  side  of  the  head,  the  pectoral  fins,  and 
the  scales  of  the  under  surface  of  the  body,  but  leaves  the  outlines  of  the 
cranial  plates  and  the  posterior  fins  to  be  imagined. 

Without  more  material  it  is  impossible  to  determine  with  accuracy  the 
generic  relations  of  this  interesting  fossil      Its  affinities  are  evidently  with 
Ghjptolcemiis  and  Gbjptopomus,  and  I  have  referred  it  provisionally  to  the 
latter.     The  form  of  the  jugular  plates,  both  central  and  lateral,  is  almost 
precisely  the  same  as  in  Gli/pfolccnms  Kinnamli,  Huxley;*  but  the  pectoral 
plates,  which  are  characteristic  of  this  genus,  are  wanting.     In  place  of 
these,  the  scaling  of  the  under  side  of  the  body  readies  forward  and  fills 
the  interval  between  the  divergent  bases  of  the  jugulars.     Tlie  form  and 
markings  of  the  scales  as  well  as  the  ornamentation  of  the  head  plates  cor- 
respond closely  with  Ghjptopomiis  minor,  Ag ,  from  Dura  Den;  and  as  by  the 
absence  of  the  pectoral  plates  it  appears  to  be  excluded  from  Glyptoloemus, 
it  has  seemed  to  me  probable  that  it  belonged  to  Ghjptopomus.     Professor 
Huxley  gives  a  figure^  of  a  nearly  entire  individual  of  Ghjptopomus  minor, 
in  which  the  head  is  seen  froui  the  under  side.     This  fish  is  about  fourteen 
inches  long,  a  little  more  than  half  the  size  of  the  one  before  us.     The 
corresponding  parts  of  the  body  in  our  fossil  and  this  figure  are  exceedingly 
like,  and  yet  there  are  some  notable  diff'erences.     For  example,  in  Professor 
Huxley's  specimen  there  seem  to  be  two  triangular  accessory  jugular  plates 
filling  the  angle  between  the  converging  posterior  borders  o.'"  the  principal 
jugulars;  whereas  in  our  specimen  this  angle  is  occupied  by  the  scales  of 
the  under  side  of  the  body  which  run  up  into  it.     Again,  in  the  specimen 
described  by  Professor  Hu.-ley  no  lateral  jugulars  are  shown,  but  the  state 
of  preservation  of  the  fish  is  scarcely  decisive  of  their  presence  or  absence. 
They  are  present  in  Glyptolamtis,  are  shown  in  our  fossil,  and  it  has  been 

'  Memoirs  Geol.  Survey  United  Kiugdom,  Decade  10  n  41 
» Ibid.,  Decade  12,  pi.  1. 


118 


PALEOZOIC!  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


!  i; 


Uj 


el 

1:^  i 


inferred  that  they  were  possessed  by  Glyptopomus.  Should  it  prove,  how- 
ever, that  they  are  absent  in  tlii-:;  genus,  we  should  be  compelled  to  give  to 
our  fish  a  new  generic  name,  and  I  would  call  it  Glypto^nuthns,  in  allusion 
to  the  conspicuous  ornamentation  of  the  mandibles;  distinguishing  it  from 
Glyptoponms  by  its  lateral  jugulars,  from  Ghjptolcvmus  by  the  absence  of 
pectoral  plates.  To  avoid,  however,  the  possible  multiplication  of  syno- 
nyms, already  sufTiciently  numerous,  I  have  thought  it  better  to  unite  it 
with  Glyptopomus  until  the  question  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  lateral 
jugular  plates  in  that  genus  shall  be  decided  by  the  discovery  of  more 
material. 

.  The  triangular  accessory  jugulars  in  Glyptopomus  minor  might  be  con- 
sidered as  evidence  of  generic  distinctness  from  our  fisli,  but  until  they 
shall  be  found  in  other  individuals  or  other  species  they  cannot  be  proven 
to  be  other  than  individual  or  specific  characters. 

The  specimen  described  above  remains  up  to  the  present  time  unique; 
and  yet  on  the  slab  on  which  it  lies  are  portions  of  two  other  individuals 
which,  like  it,  were  probably  preserved  entire.  I  have  made  much  effort 
to  obtain  other  specimens;  hitherto  without  success.  There  is  very  little 
doubt,  however,  that  the  Catskill  rocks  will  hereafter  yield  more  remains 
of  this  fish,  as  well  as  of  others  of  which  we  have  up  to  the  present  time 
only  very  imperfect  representation. 

DiPTEEUS  (Ctenodus)  Sherwoodi,  Newb. 

Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  Z-^\ 

Dipterus  Sherwoodi,  N.;  Palteontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  pi.  58,  flg.  17. 

Teeth  one  inch  in  length,  triangular  in  outline ;  crown  marked  with 
three  prominent  tuberculated  ridgea,  separated  by  deep  furrows  somewhat 
wider  than  the  ridges.  The  strongest  of  these  ridges  forms  one  side  of  the 
triangular  tooth.  On  the  angle  opposite  this  side  are  a  few  irregular  tuber- 
cles, but  no  traces  of  distinct  ridges.  The  denticles  which  crown  the  ridges 
are  somewhat  con  pressed  laterally,  are  rounded,  smooth,  and  blunt  at  the 
summit. 

This  is  apparently  one  of  the  upper  palate  teeth  of  a  species  of  Bipterus, 
and  is  specially  interesting  as  being  the  fii-st  relic  of  the  genus  found  on 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAKBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


U9 


this  continent.  It  can  be  readily  distinguished  from  all  the  species  described 
abroad  by  the  small  number  of  its  radiating  ridges.  This  specimen  is  from 
the  Catskill  group  of  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  and  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Andrew 
Sherwood,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  an  opportunity  of  examining  it. 

Since  the  discovery  of  the  tooth  of  Dipterus  Sliertvoodi  many  oihers 
belonging  to  the  same  genus  have  been  obtained  from  the  Chemung  rocks 
and  are  noticed  in  this  paper,  but  they  are  distinguishable  at  a  glance  from 
this  by  their  greater  number  of  radiating  ridges  and  smooth  or  less  di.«tinctly 
tuberculated  triturating  surfaces.  The  type  specimen  of  this  species  is  in 
the  cabinet  of  the  School  of  Mines,  Columbia  College. 

DiPTEBUS  (Ctenodus)  kadiatus,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  Fig.  33. 

Another  tooth  belonging  to  the  genus  Dipterus  has  recently  been  sent 
to  me  by  Mr.  Sherwood.  He  obtained  it  from  the  same  formation  and 
locality  as  that  which  many  years  ago  furnished  the  type  specimen  of  D. 
Shenvoodi. 

The  new  tooth  is,  however,  quite  distinct  specifically  from  that,  viz,  it 
is  much  smaller,  being  only  half  an  inch  long,  and  has  three  strong  and  two 
faintly  defined,  widely  divergent,  curved,  obscurely  tuherculated  ridges  on  the 
crown  surface. 

It  is  apparently  undescribed,  and  I  would  propose  for  it  the  name  of 
Dipterus  (Ctenodus)  radiatus,  as  expressing  one  of  its  most  striking  characters, 
the  great  divergence  of  the  ridges  as  they  leave  their  common  starting-point 
in  the  center  of  the  interior  edge  of  the  crown.  A  more  detailed  description 
can  only  be  given  when  other  specimens  shall  be  obtained. 

Gybacanthus  Sheewoodi,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XVIII,  Figs.  4-4". 

Spines  four  to  six  inches  in  length  by  half  an  inch  in  width,  unsym- 
metrical,  obliquely  rounded  or  spatulate  at  the  base,  gently  curved  and  acute 
at  sunmiit,  much  compressed  laterally ;  central  cavity  reaching  neariy  to 
point,  opening  posteriorly  only  near  the  base ;  sides  bearing  numerous 
prominent,  obHque,  acute,  beaded,  parallel  ridges. 


I   ■ 


11 


1* 


120 


PALEOZOIC  FISIIES  OF  NOKTU  AMEKIOA. 


This  is  a  well-marked  species,  distinguislied  from  all  others  known  by 
its  small  size,  compressed  form,  and  highly  ornamented  surface.  It  most 
resembles  Gymvanthus  Allcni,  N.,  of  the  Ohio  Waverly,  but  is  smaller  and 
much  more  compressed.  The  only  specimens  known  are  ten  spines  in  a 
bowlder  seven  by  nine  inches  in  dimensions  found  by  Mr.  Hess  Cooper  on 
Lamb's  Creek,  near  Mansfield,  Tioga  County,  Pa.  The  color  and  texture 
of  this  rock  and  the  teeth  and  scales  of  Iloloptychius  which  it  contains  jjrove 
that  it  came  from  the  Catskill  group. 

For  the  opportunity  of  exivmining  and  describing  these  spines  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  Andrew  Sherwood,  of  Mansfield,  Pa.,  the  discoverer  of  so 
many  remains  of  fishes  in  the  Catskill  and  Chemung  rocks,  and  the  author 
of  the  Geological  Report  of  Tioga  Count},  published  by  the  Second  Geo- 
logical Survey  of  Pennsylvania.  As  a  slight  token  of  recognition  of  the 
important  services  he  has  rendered  to  geology  I  dedicate  the  species  to  him. 

Section  C. — Fishes  of  the  Waverly  Group. 

The  Waverly  group  was  so  named  by  the  first  geological  corps  of  Ohio, 
fi"om  a  locality  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  where  it  is  well  exposed, 
and  early  becanie  famous  for  the  excellence  of  the  building  stone  it  furnished. 
Later  studies  of  the  group  have  shown  that  it  consists  of  a  number  of 
elements  which  are  locally  quite  distinct,  but  are  not  of  great  geographical 
extent.  Where  best  seeu,  as  in  northeastern  Ohio,  it  is  about  500  feet  thick, 
and  fills  the  interval  between  the  Erie  shale  (Chemung)  below  and  the  Car- 
boniferous conglomerate  above.     It  consists  of  several  strata,  as  follows : 

Averago  tliicknesa. 

1.  Cuyahogu  shale ^'lOfcut. 

2.  Bercasbnle 20    do 

3.  Bureagrit 60   do 

4.  Bedford  shale T.')    do 

5.  Cleveland  shale 50    do 

•In  Pennsylvania  the  Waverly  is  represented  by  the  Umbral  shales  and 
Vespertine  sandstones  of  Rogers.  In  Kentucky  the  Waverly  rocks  are  the 
"  Subcarboniferous  sandstones  and  shales"  of  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen,  and  they 
are  also  locally  known  as  the  Knob  stones,  because  they  compose  a  series  of 
knobs  or  hills  bordering  the  Ohio  valley.     Here  they  become  more  calcare- 


PISHES  OP  THE  OAUnoNIPEROUS  SYSTRM. 


131 


0U8,  and  contain  large  numbers  of  tlio  fossils  which  arc  found  in  tlie  Carbon- 
iferous limestone,  especially  in  the  Keokuk  division.  West  of  the  Cincinnati 
axis  the  Waverly  formation  is  thin  and  scarcely  distinsuishable.  In  Michi- 
gan it  is  the  Marshall  group  of  Winchell,  and  is  thicker  and  coarser,  showing 
that  we  are  there  nearer  the  source  of  supply  of  the  materials  composing  it. 
In  Kentucky,  Ohio,  and  Michigan  the  Waverly  strata  contain  a  con- 
siderable number  of  fishes,  and  although  much  remains  to  be  done  in  col- 
lecting and  describing  the  fish  fauna  of  this  group,  it  has  already  yielded 
the  following  list  of  genera  and  species  : 

ELASHOBIiANCaS. 

CtoHocanlhin  formoma,  Nowb.,  Cnyabogn  shale,  Ohio. 

tiiangi,lari»,  Newb.,  Cuyahoga  ghalo,  Pennsylvania. 
vetuatim,  Newl>.,  Clovelanil  Bhalo,  Ohio. 
eompresmia,  Nowl..,  Clevolaiid  Hhalr,  Oliio. 
Clarkii,  Nnwb.,  C'lovolaud  Hhalc,  Ohio. 
funicariniitiia,  Nowb.,  BoreaBhale,  Kentucky. 
anguatiis,  Newb.,  Berea  grit,  Ohio. 
cylmdricm,  Nowb.,  Knobatones,  Kc^'nnVy. 
ffoplonohua  parvuhia,  Newb.,  Chvclaiid  shalo,  Ohio. 
Aateroptychiua  ekgana,  Nowb.,  Hi'ica  grit,  Michigan. 
Gyracanthua  Allem,  Newb.,  Cuyahoga  shale,  Ohio. 

comprcaaiia,  Newb.,  Cuyalioga  shale,  Ohio. 
inornaliia,  Newb.,  Cuyahoga  shale,  Ohio. 
Claiodua  aubulalua,  Newb.,  Berca  shale,  Ohio. 
Patleraoni,  Newb.,  Berca  shale,  Ohio. 
Homiiigeii,  Nowb.,  Berea  grit,  Michigan. 
Uirtzeri,  Newb.,  Bedford  shale,  Ohio. 
coMoi«H«»,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
parvulaa,  Nowb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Ktphii,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Terrein,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Fghri,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shalo,  Ohio. 
tumidiia,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Orodua  eUgauMus,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
vnn(iii7i»,  Newb.,  Berea  shale,  Kentucky. 
ramoaua,  Ag.,  Berea  grit,  Michigan. 
Phabodiia politua,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Polyrhhodiia  modeatna,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Slethacanlhua  tumidita,  Nowb.,  Berea  grit,  Ohio. 
Helodua  coniculua,  Newb.,  Cuyahoga  shale,  Pennsylvania. 
Mazodua  Kepleri,  Newb.,  Berea  shalo,  Ohio. 
Flatyodua  linealna,  Newb.,  Knob  stones,  Kentucky. 

GANOIDS. 

Gonalodm  lirainerdi,  Thomas,  sp.,  Berea  grit,  Ohio. 
Cttnodua  WagHnri,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 
Aelinophorua  Clarkii,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Ohio. 


122 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I    i 


II 


PLACOOEKMS. 

DinlcHthyi  TendU,  Newb.,  CUwelaiul  Hhale,  Ohio. 

(loulitil,  Nowli.,  Cl«Vfli4ii<l  Hlmln,  Ohio. 

minor,  Newl>,,  t'ieveliiii<i  Mlmiti,  Oliio. 

loniKjHlut,  Ni«wl).,  fluvi'lttiiil  Hlmly,  Olilo. 

iiilermeiliuii,  Nowb.,  Clevcluiui  8b«lt<,  Obio. 

flMr/M«,  Ni'wli.,  CltniOiiml  sbalo,  Oliio. 
Titaniohthm  Ay(iiiii:ii,  Nmvli.,  Cleveluml  bIiuIo,  Obio. 

flaikii,  Nitwb.,  Clovolaiiil  sbalo,  Ohio. 
DiplognalhuH  mirahiliii,  Newb.,  Clovelaud  Hhale,  Obio. 
UlyptaHph  rernicoHun,  Niiwh.,  Clovulan  I  sbalu,  Oliio. 
Mjllontuma  Terrtdli,  Niiwb.,  Clovuiand  ndale,  Obio. 

raritMIU,  Newb.,  Clevelauil  bii»;^,  0'>Io. 
TravhonleuH  Vluikii,  Newb.,  Cleveland  shale,  Obio. 

A  few  facts  of  special  interest  in  regard  to  the  fishes  of  the  Waverly 
deserve  to  be  montiontd,  viz :  In  the  bhick  shale  at  Vancebiirgh,  Ky., 
formerly  worked  for  the  artificial  distillation  ol'  oil,  a  very  interest! n<>-  series 
of  fish  remains  was  obt.-iined  by  Mr.  Patterson,  which  are  now  in  the  State 
collection  at  Frankfort,  Ky.  Among  these  is  the  tail  of  a  shark  which  must 
have  been  eight  or  ten  feet  long;  the  outline  of  the  entire  fish  was  traceable 
on  the  shale,  but  only  this  part  was  preserved.  The  tail  is  about  a  foot  and 
a  half  long,  and  very  heterocercal ;  the  vertebral  column  lias  entirely  dis- 
appeared, and  its  place  is  marked  by  a  smooth  stripe  between  the  spinous 
apophyses,  which  are  plainly  discernible.  The  rays  of  the  lower  lobe  of 
the  tail,  neai-ly  as  large  as  one's  little  finger,  are  thoroughly  ossified.  Asso- 
ciated with  this  hnpression,  but  not  in  immediate  contact  with  it,  were 
numerous  spines  of  Ctenacanthus  and  teeth. of  Orodus,  all  of  which  probably 
belong  together. 

A  similar  case  of  the  ossification  of  the  caudal  fin-rays  has  been  found 
by  Dr.  AVilliam  Clark,  at  Berea,  Ohio.  Here  the  spines  of  Ctenacanthus 
Clarkii  were  so  closely  associated  with  the  ossified  fin-.-ays  as  to  make  it 
almost  certain  that  they  belong  to  the  same  fish,  and  the  fins  are  connected 
with  jaws  which  carry  the  teeth,  called  Cladodus  Pattersoni 

The  geological  level  at  Vanceburgh  is  essentially  the  same  as  at  Berea, 
Ohio.  Teeth  of  a  small  species  of  Cladodus  (C  Pattcrsoni)  are  very  com- 
mon at  both  places,  and  at  Vanceburgh  a  jaw  was  found  which  carries  a 
large  number  of  these  teeth  in  place.  They  form  many  rows  from  front  to 
rear  (ten  or  more)  and  are  nearly  all  of  the  same  size,  but  some  smaller  ones 


FISHES  OP  THE  CAICUONIFEUOUS  SYSTEM. 


128 


occur  at  the  aiigloH  of  the  mouth.    This  specimen  io  in  the  Ooological 
Museum  of  Cohunbiu  College,  New  York. 

In  the  Waverly,  on  Oil  Cmek,  PeiuiHylvauia,  Mr.  O.  K.  Gilbert,  found 
Hhihs  of  sandHtone  covered  with  tiio  HpiiieH  of  ('tcmianithus-  (riurif/ularL-i,  N. ; 
a  dozen  or  more  lying  within  an  area  of  two  Hquaro  feet.  As  oniy  two 
could  have  been  worn  by  one  fish,  their  accumulation  in  such  numbers  is 
not  easy  of  explanation. 

The  Cleveland  shale,  through  northern  Ohio,  is  a  black  carbonaceous 
mass,  twenty  to  sixty  feet  in  thickness.  It  there  rests  upon  tlio  argillaceous 
Erie  shale,  which  at  Cleveland  is  several  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  but 
which  thins  out  toward  the  west ;  in  Lorain  and  Huron  Counties  it  is  some- 
times wanting,  letting  the  Cleveland  shale  down  near  to  or  upon  the  Huron 
shale,  from  which  it  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  by  its  lithologic  char- 
acters. Over  a  large  area,  however,  it  i&  very  distinct,  and  it  is  the  source 
of  the  petroleum  and  gas  of  Grafton  and  Liverpool.  It  has  also  become 
celebrated  for  its  fossil  fishes.  It  is  relatively  barren  of  fossils,  but,  aa  in 
many  other  Carboniferous  bituminous  shales,  at  most  localities  the  rhom- 
boidal  scales  of  Pala-oniscoid  fishes  can  b<^  detected  ;  these  are  highly  pol- 
ished, plain  or  ornamented,  and  somewhat  abundant,  but  the  fishes  which 
bore  them  have  never  been  found  entire,  and  remain  undescribed. 

At  Bedford,  Ohio,  the  surfaces  of  the  layers  of  the  shale  are  sometimes 
covered  with  Conodonts,  of  which  thousands  occur  on  a  square  foot.  They 
exhibit  considerable  variety  in  structure  and  dimensions,  but  nothing  what- 
ever is  found  with  them  which  can  explain  their  origin.  Whether  they  are 
the  teeth  of  Cyclostomous  fishes,  shell-less  mollusks,  or  Annelids,  remain? 
undecided,  but  I  know  of  no  other  locality  where  they  are  anything  like  ab 
abundant  as  here.  They  occur  in  millions,  and  possibly  careful  study  would 
reveal  their  history.  In  this  locality  I  also  obtained  small  teeth  of  Poly- 
rhigodus  and  Orodus  (P.  modestus,  N.,  and  O.  ekf/anttdus,  N.). 

At  Cleveland,  the  Cleveland  shale  forms  a  part  of  the  hills  which  border 
the  Cuyahoga  Valley  at  its  mouth,  and  is  the  surface  rock  in  the  cemetery 
where  President  Garfield  is  buried.  From  this  region  Mr.  Frank  Wagner, 
of  Cleveland,  has  obtained  a  large  number  of  bones  and  phites  of  Dinichthjs 
Terrelli  and  one  splendid  and  as  yet  unique  tooth  of  a  species  of  Ctenodus, 


124 


PALKOZOIO  FIH11H8  OF  NOltTFI  AMKItlOA. 


•!l 


perhaps  tlio  fill(!^t  <>F  tli«  go.iUH,  It  Ih  dc'Horibed  iiiid  (i{,'Hi't'(l  in  another  port 
of  tliis  niomoir,  inul  in  named  Ct.  Woyncri,  after  its  discovcn-r. 

Ii.  tho  vaUi'yH  of  liocky,  lUark,  and  Vermilion  ItivorH,  ail  of  whicli 
enter  Lake  Erie  west  of  Clevehind,  tho  Waverly  rnckH  are  freely  opened. 
Rocky  lliver,  draining  tht  Conglomerate  area  of  central  Medina  ( bounty 
with  itM  upper  bruncheH,  and  having  itH  mouth  in  the  Krie  Hhale,  cutH  through 
tlio  entire  Waverly  formation,  FIhIi  remaiiiH  have  been  revealed  at  many 
levels  in  this  Heotion,  and  Honie  of  special  interest.  At  the  top  of  tiie  Wav- 
erly at  Medina,  Kagdad,  and  iJoyalton  we  find  three  species  of  Gi/racanthitu, 
the  only  ones  yet  met  with  in  tho  United  States  (C.  Alien*,  ('.  compressus, 
and  C.  inornatus.^) 

Those  are  ♦ho  uectoral  spiiies  of  sharks,  and  were  often  used  for  crawl- 
ing over  shallows  and  shores,  as  we  know  by  their  worn  .londition ;  the 
young  ones  being  perfect  and  acute,  the  older  ones,  which  should  have 
been  naarly  two  feet  in  length,  redticed  to  mere  stumps,  with  every  inter- 
mediate grade.  All  the  spines  of  (hfmainthus  yet  known  have  been  four:d 
in  the  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks  in  Kurope,  Canada,  and  the  Uiuted  Statch- 
Sir  J.  W.  Dawson^  has  described  two  species  of  Gijracanthus  {G.  ihtplicatus  and 
G.  mafin'ificus),  and  refers  them  to  tho  Coal  Measures ;  but  Rev.  I).  Honey  man 
informs  n>e  that  G.  vntymficus  was  obtained  from  the  Lower  Carboniferous 
limestone  of  Cape  Breton.  As  to  the  other  sjjecies,  G.  ditpticatus,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  this  should  be  included  in  the  genus  Gymcunthiis. 

At  Berea,  the  Berea  shale,  the  Berea  grit,  and  the  calcareous  bands  of 
tho  Bedford  shale  have  nil  furnished  the  remains  of  fishes  in  considerable 
numbers,  viz :  In  the  Berea  shale  occur  the  teeth  of  Cladvdus  J'attcrsoni,  and 
the  striated  rhomboidal  scales  of  P'  \'',oniscus  ( Gonatodus)  Brainerdi,  and  Dr. 
William  Clark  has  here  found  in  +1m  iove-colored  clay-shale  just  above  the 
sandstone,  several  specimens  of  I'h  yonemus  {Sle(hacanthus)  tiimidits,  to  which 
the  rays  of  the  pectoral  fins  are  still  attached.  On  the  surface  of  tho  sand- 
stone he  has  obtained  a  large  number  of  these  spines,  but  here  denuded  of 
all  appendages.  From  the  want  of  symmetry  which  tliey  exhibit  I  had 
been  led  to  consider  them  as  pectoral  spines.     The  specimens  in  which  the 

>  Recently  another  species  bus  been  found  by  Mr.  Sherwood  iu  the  Catskill  rocks  of  Tiog.i  County, 
Pa.     It  is  described  in  another  part  of  this  memoir. 
'Acadian  Ueology,  p.  210, 


"^         -^ 


FISHKR  OP  TriK  (UKnONIFFJUOUS  SYSTKM. 


125 


fin-myM  iiro  in  plaoo  uIhohIiovv  a  hiillxtiiH  «'X|)iiriHioii  »if  tho  jtioxiiiiiil  extremity 
of  tlio  Hpiiio,  which  iippareiitly  sigiiifioH  lui  articuhition;  a  iiatiiiHl  fcatiiro  in 
a  [lectoral  Hpine,  but  iiover  present  in  thoHo  of  the  (lomil  line.  In  tlio  Ikren 
K'it  it«elf,  at  Ik-rea,  Independence,  and  especially  at  ('ha^^nin  I'jills,  Ohio, 
Imvo  been  found  luunorouH  Hpecinienn  of /'«/<* o«iA(M.s  iM/iwm//,  which  wtnio- 
tinies  attain  a  lonnfth  of  fifteen  or  nixteen  inchcH  and  not  unfnujuentlv  are 
fonnd  entire. ' 

In  the  pyritous  layer  of  the  HandHtone  at  Herea  Dr.  Clark  has  obtained 
nwnieroiiH  Hpeciniena  of  three  specieH  of  avnaiauthus-  {('t.  Jhinwsus,  it. 
Chirhil,^.,  and  Ct.  rt«7M.s/M,<(,  N.),  of  which  descriptionH  will  be  found  in 
another  part  of  this  memoir.  It  iu  somewhat  remarkable  that  with  these 
sj)ineH  iio  tcieth  have  as  yet  been  discovered. 

Ill  the  calcareous  bands  of  the  Bedford  shale  Mr.  II.  Ilertzer  discovered 
years  a{,^o  a  species  of  Cladodus  (f.  yA-rtori),' which  has  the  peculiarity 
that  the  external  deiticles  are  smaller  than  the  intermediate  ones,  and  these 
in  their  turn  smaller  than  the  central  ones.  I'his  is  perhajjs  a  character 
whi(th  has  generic  value,  but  as  the  specimen  upon  which  the  specific 
description  was  based  remains  unique,  I  have  hesiUited  to  erect  a  genus 
upon  a  foundation  so  narrow. 

In  the  Cleveland  shale  farther  down  the  river  Drs.  Clark  and  Gould 
have  obtained  some  of  the  most  interesting-  renuuns  of  ilshes  yet  found  in 
Ohio.  These  are  the  cranium,  dorsomedian  plate,  suprascapulas,  and  man- 
dibles of  TtUinkhthijs  Clurkii  (the  largest  known  Placoderm),  and  the  same 
bones  and  plates  of  a  small  species  of  JHnichUii/s  (D.  (louldii),  in  which  are 
preserved  the  eye-orbits,  surrounded  by  circles  of  four  sclerotic  plates, 
both  of  which  will  be  found  described  in  another  part  of  this  memoir 

Mr.  Jay  Terrell  also  and  earlier  found  a  cranium  with  the  supra- 
scapulas, clavicles,  mandibles,  etc.,  of  Titankhthjis  A(/asskii  in  the  Cleve- 
land shale  on  the  banks  of  Black  River. 


'Dr.  I,'.  H.  Trii.|iiiiir,  of  K.liMl.iirBli,  hnn  Boimniteil  from  tlie  gouus  j-alnonincm  ortuiii  HpeoieH 
which  hiivc  n-hilivcly  mniill  dormil  Una,  mt  h.himl  th«  iiii.hllo  of  tho  haeU,  with  siriitted  st^ales  and 
teeth  h.M.t  at  an  aiiKl.',  under  Iho  nnnio  of  ConaloduK.  It  is  prohnhle  that  PahuuiociH  ItrainenU  Mho.ild 
b.!  included  in  tlimciitegory,  but  I  have  not  yot  seen  miy  Hi.ocinioi)8  in  which  llio  teeth  weieHuiHciently 
well  preserved  to  show  whether  they  have  the  peculiar  character  which  Dr.  Traquair  has  made  diajj- 
noatio  of  his  genus. 

»Desc-lbed  in  Palusontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  t,  p.  328,  pi.  30,  fig.  2 ;  vol.  U,  p.  .W,  pi.  59,  tig.  1. 

"Pahtoutology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  4G,  pi   58,  fig.  5. 


126 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTLl  AMERICA. 


I  K 


I  ft 


J  ' 


Before  closing  this  notice  of  the  fishes  of  the  Waverly  in  Ohio,  I 
should  refer  to  tlie  discovery  by  Mr.  M.  C.  Read,  at  Warren,  Ohio,  of  a 
splendid  dorsal  spine  (Cteimcanthus  fonnosus^);  also  to  a  true  fish-bed,  filled 
with  bones  and  teotii,  generally  fragments,  discovered  by  Mr.  McGuire  at 
Younggtown.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Waverly  formation  wijl  prove  to 
be  rich  in  fossil  fishes  at  various  localities,  and  many  new  things  are  yet  to 
be  f  md  in  it.  The  great  success  whicli  has  attended  the  search  of  Messrs. 
Terrell,  Clark,  Gould,  Hertzer,  and  Wagner  in  northern  Ohio  is  an  evidence 
of  their  energy  and  sagacity,  rather  than  of  any  local  richness  of  the  depohit. 
It  is  altogether  probable  also  that  the  Waverly  of  southern  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
western  Pennsylvania,  and  Michigan  offers  fields  which  will  as  well  reward 
thorough  cultivation. 

Dr  G.  Roniinger  has  kindly  sent  to  me  a  collection  of  fish  remains  ob- 
tained in  the  Waverly  rocks  at  Grindstone  City,  ilich.,  in  which,  with  many 
imperfectly  preserved  specimens,  are  several  spincj  and  teeth  of  new  species 
of  sharks;  and,  what  is  of  special  interest,  a  si)lendid  tooth  of  Orodus  ramosus, 
Ag.,  one  of  the  most  characteristic  fossils  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone  of 
Armagh,  Ireland. 

Section  D. — Fishes  op  the  Cleveland  Shale. 

The  Cleveland  phale,  though  a  formation  which  never  exceeds  one 
hundred  feet  in  tliickness — generally  less  than  one-half  that — and  occupyirg 
a  limited  area  in  northeastern  Ohio,  has  proved  to  be  the  most  interesting 
of  all  the  fish-bearing  strata  in  North  American  geology.  It  therefore 
deserves  a  few  more  words  than  are  devoted  to  the  description  of  tlie  asso- 
ciated rocks.  As  already  stated,  it  is  represented  in  my  reports  on  the 
geology  of  Ohio  as  a  part  of  the  Waverly  series  and  of  Carboniferous  ao-e. 
It  is  found  outcropping  ',n  the  hills  which  border  the  valley  of  the  Cuyahoga, 
and  good  eivposures  of  it  P"e  seen  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Cleveland. 
It  is  there  fifty  feet  in  thickness,  a  homogeneous  mass  of  bituminous  shale, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  strata  distinctly  identified  when,  at  the  organization 
of  the  Geological  Survey  o^  Ohio  in  1869,  the  work  of  making  out  the 
geological  structure  of  the  State  began.     In  all  this  region  the  rocks  have 

'  Paleontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  pi.  5y,  fig.  1. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  afSTEM. 


127 


a  general  though  gentle  dip  toward  the  east,  rising  westward  to  the  great 
arch  of  the  Cincinnati  axis.  From  Cleveland  to  Berea  this  rise  is  quite 
conspicuous,  and  in  the  eariy  days  of  our  geological  explorations  it  was 
supposed  to  continue  toward  the  west.  Later,  however,  it  was  found  that 
a  bn  .d  arch  was  formed  in  the  vicinity  of  Berea,  and  thence  westward  the 
Waveriy  series  dipped  rapidly  down  to  the  valleys  of  Black  River  and  the 
Vermilion.  This  dip  misled  us,  and  the  thinning  of  the  Erie  sliale,  bringing 
the  Cleveland  down  near  to  the  Huron,  caused  these  two  to  be  confounded, 
and  led  to  the  supposition  that  the  fish-bearing  black  shales  wliich  form  the 
lake  shore  in  Lorain  County  were  the  upper  part  of  the  Huron;  hence  all 
the  great  Placoderrns  discovered  by  Mr.  Terrell  were  at  first  referred  to  that 
formation.  This  matter  was,  however,  cleared  up  by  an  excursion  made  by 
the  writer  westward  from  Cleveland  in  1886,  and  it  is  now  definitely  estab- 
lished that  all  the  outcrops  of  black  shale  in  Cuyahoga  and  Lorain  Counties 
belong  to  the  Cleveland  shale,  and  that  none  of  the  fossil  fishes  described 
from  northern  Ohio  should  be  credited  to  the  Huron. 

From  the  Cleveland  shale  we  have  now  obtained  the  remains  of  more 
than  twenty  species  of  fossil  fishes,  some  of  which  in  magnitude  and  interest 
surpass  any  others  known.  This  has  rendered  the  determination  of  its 
precise  geological  age  a  matter  of  special  importance.  In  the  reports  of 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio  it  was  made  a  part  of  the  Waveriy  series 
chiefly  on  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Andrew  Sherwood,  one  of  my  assistants, 
who  brought  to  me  fragments  of  an  earthy  limestone  which  he  claimed  to 
have  found  in  the  valley  of  Tinker's  Creek,  near  Bedford,  Ohio,  '^ beneath 
the  Cleveland  shale."  These  specimens  contained  numerous  Waveriy  fossils, 
among  wiiich  SyriwjothjHs  typus  was  conspicuous.  Subsequently,  when  a 
question  was  raised  in  regard  to  the  accuracy  of  these  observations,  efforts 
made  to  redis^jover  the  stratum  of  limestone  reported  by  Mr.  Sherwood  were 
without  success,  and  we  are  compelled  to  depend  for  the  time  being  upon 
other  evidence  as  to  tiie  age  of  the  deposit. 

As  a  general  rule  the  Cleveland  shale  is  verv  barren  of  fossils,  many 
of  its  exposures  having  yielded  nothing  but  the  imprints  of  sea-weeds. 
Aside  from  the  great  fishes  which  are  its  characteristic  fossils,  and  which, 
being  all  new  species,  do  not  decide  this  question,  we  have  not  a  great  array 


m 


128 


PALEOZOIC)  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


it 


Dfii 


!  i' 


of  evidence.  In  the  excellent  exposures  at  Bedford,  Ohio,  except  raillior» 
of  Conodonts,  having  no  geological  significance,  the  only  fossils  found  are 
the  spines  and  teeth  of  three  species  of  Elasmobranchs,  Iloplonchus,  Orodiis, 
and  Polyrhizodus.  These  three  genera  are  characteristic  of  the  Carbonif- 
erous system,  and  have  never  been  found  in  the  Devonian;  but  they  will 
hardly  be  accepted  as  decisive,  being  specifically  new.  To  solve  this 
problem,  Mr.  M.  C.  Read  and  Prof  H.  P.  Gushing  have  within  the  last  year 
made  diligent  search  throughout  northeastern  Ohio  for  molluscous  fossils 
in  the  Cleveland  shale.  Their  efforts  have  been  reasonably  successful,  as 
they  have  found  large  numbers  of  four  species  of  Brachiopods,  three  of 
Lingula  and  one  of  Liscina.  In  order  to  make  the  specific  determination 
of  these  shells  as  certain  as  possible,  they  were  submitted,  without  info  "'na- 
tion  as  to  their  origin,  to  Prof  R.  P.  AVliitfield,  whose  accuracy  and  pal;  ii- 
tological  knowledge  are  proverbial.  lie  reports  them  to  be  Lingula  Cuya- 
hoga, Hall;  L.  melk,  Hall;  and  Disciua  Newberrgi,  Hall;  all  well-known 
species  of  the  Cuyahoga  shale  (Upper  Waverly).  The  fourth  species,  not 
identified  by  Professor  Whitfield,  is  a  pointed  Lingula,  apparently  unde- 
scribed,  but  found  in  the  Bedford  shale,  which  overlies  the  Cleveland,  and 
is  full  of  Waverly  fossils. 

The  evidence,  then,  that  the  Cleveland  shale  is  the  basal  member  of 
the  Waverly  and  a  part  of  the  Carboniferous  system,  as  stated  in  the  Ohio 
reports,  though  not  overwhelming,  may  be  considered  as  satisfactory. 

Prof.  IMward  Orton,  the  present  State  geologist  of  Ohio,  has  in  several 
of  his  recently  published  papers  united  the  Cleveland.  Erie,  and  Huron 
siiahs,  and  called  them  collectively  the  Ohio  shale.  This  seems  to  me 
unwarranted,  as  these  strata  are  essentially  distinct  in  their  fossils,  and  the 
upper  and  lower  members  of  the  trinity  are  separated  on  the  eastern  border 
of  the  State  by  ai:  interval  of  at  least  one  thousand  feet.  It  is  true  that  in 
western  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  the  rocks  which  represent  the  Huron 
and  Erie  shales  of  Ohio,  viz,  the  Genesee  shale,  the  Cashauqua  shale,  the 
Gardi3au  shale,  the  Portage  sandstones,  :iiid  the  Chemung  group  are  suffi- 
ciently distinct  to  be  separately  recognized  and  to  receive  different  names. 
But  in  passing  westward  into  Ohio  they  are  found  to  thin  and  blend  until 
they  ultimately  form  two  distinct  strata;  the  upper — as  we  know  by  the 


m 


!  i 


FISHBS  OP  THE  0AKIiO>flFEliOUS  SYSTEM. 


129 


fossils— the  equivalent  of  the  Portage  sandstone  and  the  Chemung  group 
(the  Erie  shale);  the  lower,  which  contains  fossils  of  the  Genesee  and  Port- 
age  shale,  by  the  loss  of  the  argillaceous  members  has  become  in  central 
Ohio  a  nearly  homogeneous  bituminous  shale  three  hundred  to  four  hun- 
hundred  feet  in  thickness  (the  Huron  shale).     At  the  mouth  of  Rocky 
River,  at  Cleveland  and  eastward  to  Erie,  the  lake  shore  is  composed  of 
gray  shale,  with  bands  of  flaggy,  often  micaceous,  sandstone  and  lenticular 
concretions  of  iron  ore.     This  was  named  the  Erie  shale,  as  throughout  the 
interval  mentioned  it  has  a  distinct  entity,  and  is  not  the  equivalent  of  any 
one  stratum  or  formation  in  New  York.     At  Painesville  the  Erie  shale,  by 
the  boring  made  at  General  Casement's  house,  was  proved  to  have  a  thick- 
ness  of  seven  hundred  feet,  and  there  to  rest  upon  a  black  shale,  from  which 
it  was  sharply  separated.     From  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet  of  the 
upper  portion  of  the  Erie  shale  are  here  wanting,  having  been  removed  by 
erosion;  but  this  portion  may  be  seen  by  following  up  the  valley  of  Chagrin 
River.     Hence  we  have  evidence  that  there  the  Erie  shale  is  not  far  from 
one  thousand  feet  in  thickness  and  is  essentially  alike  throughout;  that  is, 
is  composed  of  soft  dove-colored  clay  shale,  with  flags  of  sandstone. 

Above  the  Erie  shale  we  find  in  that  vicinity,  at  the  base  of  Little 
Mountain,  the  edge  of  the  Cleveland  shale;  which,  having  a  thickness  of  fifty 
feet  at  Cleveland,  thii.s  towards  the  east  and  apparently  runs  out  before 
reaching  the  Pennsylvania  line.  All  the  fossils  yet  obtained  from  it  are 
identical  with  those  found  in  the  Waverly  beds  above.  Toward  the  west 
the  Erie  shale  thins  rapidly,  and  in  Huron  County  is  in  one  locality  not 
more  than  ten  feet  in  thickness.  So  far  as  known  none  of  the  fossils  of  the 
Huron  occur  in  the  Erie  or  Cleveland  shales.  Hence,  to  unite  these  thre^ 
distinct  formations  is,  in  my  judgment,  to  misrepresent  the  geologic  record. 
Prof  L.  E.  Hicks  announces'  the  discovery  of  the  Cleveland  shale  in 
Delaware  County,  Ohio,  but  I  think  he  has  found  there  the  Berea  shale, 
which  lies  immediately  above  the  Berea  grit.  This  latter  shale  is  persistent 
southward,  and  is  apparently  the  black  shale,  so  rich  in  iish  remains  at 
Vanceburgh,  Kentucky.  I  suspect  the  Cleveland  shale  does  not  pass  south 
of  the  line  of  the  Western  Reserve. 


MON   XVI- 


'  Am.  Jour.  Soi.,  M  series,  vol.  16,  1878,  p.  70. 
-9 


130 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


The  followiri}?  is  a  list  of  the  fishes  found  in  the  Cleveland  shale  up  to 
the  present  time : 


1.  Titaniohthijii  Agnssizii,  Ncwb. 

2.  CJni'Aii,  Nrwb. 

3.  Diniohthya  Terrelli,  Nowb. 

4.  intermeiliue,  Newb, 
5<                      minor,  Nuwb. 

6.  Gouldii,  Ncwb. 

7.  corrnijntua,  Newb. 

8.  ontim,  Ni'wb. 

9.  GlyplMpia  lerrueoaua,  Nowb. 

10.  DiplognathiiH  mirahilia,  Ncwb. 

11.  MyloHtoma  Tenclli,  Nowb. 

12.  miiiahilis,  Nowb. 

13.  Traehottoiis  VInrkii,  Newb. 

14.  Ctenacanihi,^  oHuatui,  Newb. 


15.  Ctenaeanthua  ClarkU,  Newb. 

16.  cumpreaaua,  Newb. 

17.  noplomhiia  pareiiliia,  Nowb. 

18.  Oiuiliti  cliijanttihia,  Nowb. 
IS).  I'ohirh'noihia  iiiodcaliia,  Newb. 

20.  Cladodiia  concinnua,  Nowb. 

21.  Kepleri,  Nowb. 

22.  parvulua,  Newb. 

23.  Fyleri,  Nowb. 

24.  Terrelli,  Nowb. 
2.5.                   tamidua,  Nowb. 
20.  Ctenodita  fVayiieri,  Newb. 
27.  I'habodtia  politiia,  Nowb. 
m.  Actinophorua  Clarkii,  Newb. 


; 


|i      I 

I      .1 


Order  PLACODERMI. 
Genus  TITANICHTHYS,  Newb. 

In  1883  Mr.  Jay  Terrell,  of  Slieffiekl,  Lorain  County,  Ohio,  found  in 
the  Cleveland  shale,  which  liad  yielded  to  him  so  many  bones  oi  Dbiichthjs, 
the  cranium  and  some  body  plates  of  a  Placoderm  fish  of  still  more  gig'antic 
size.  While  evidently  belonging  to  the  family  of  Dinichthidse  it  was 
generically  distinct,  and  I  gave  it  the  name  of  Titanichthys. 

As  in  D'michfhi/s,  the  head  is  triangular  in  outline,  but  the  largest 
cranium  of  the  largest  known  species  of  that  genus,  i).  Terrelli,  measures 
but  three  feet  across  the  occiput,  while  the  cranium  of  Titanichthys  has  a 
breadth  of  four  feet  or  more. 

The  cranial  surface,  as  in  Dinichthys,  is  granulated  or  nearly  smooth, 
and  is  ornamented  with  a  series  of  incised  lines  or  grooves  ("  Schleim 
Caniile"),  which  form  a  distinct  and  somewhat  graceful  pattern. 

The  dorsomedian  shield  is  rounded  in  outline,  about  two  feet  in  diame- 
ter, much  thinner  than  that  of  Dinichthys,  and  with  a  long  and  relatively 
slender  process,  which  reaches  backward  and  downward  apparently  to  gain 
the  support  of  the  neural  spines. 

The  supra-scapulas  are,  as  in  Dinichthys,  quadrangular  or  trapezoidal, 
lighter  than  those  of  Dinichthys,  but  broader;  their  longest  diameter  being 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  inches.     They  articulate  with  the  cranium  by  a 


^^-""BS  OF  TUE  CAEBOJflFEltOUa  SYSTEM. 


131 


strong  and  ingeniously  devised  joint.  In  Dinkhthys  n  tliinible-liko  process 
projects  from  the  anterior  border  of  the  supra-scapulci  and  plays  in  a  conical 
cavity  in  the  angle  of  the  cranium.  To  prevent  this  conical  condyle  from 
getting  wedged  by  sinking  too  deeply  into  the  cavity,  a  guard  projects 
from  the  under  side  of  the  angle  of  the  head,  upon  which  the  supra-scapula 
rests.  In  Titanichthys  the  margin  of  the  angle  of  the  cranium  is  doubled, 
so  as  to  form  a  deep  groove,  which  is  partially  inclosed;  that  is,  its  margins 
approach  each  other.  Into  this  groove  a  liorizontal  condyle,  which  is 
thinner  behind  than  before,  projecting  from  the  anterior  margin  of  the 
supra-scapula,  may  be  slipped  from  the  side.  When  thus  inserted  it  cannot 
bo  directly  withdrawn,  but  apparently  had  both  a  lateral  and  vertical 
motion. 

Aside  from  the  parts  just  mentioned,  the  clavicles,  corocoids  (?),  sub- 
orbital plates,  the  mandibles,  and  a  ventral  plate  are  all  that  have  been  dis- 
covered of  the  two  known  species  of  the  genus.     We  are,  therefore,  without 
the  means  of  making  minute  comparisons,  part  by  part,  with  the  much 
better  known  dermal  skeleton  of  DinicUtliys.     We  have  data  enough,  how- 
ever, to  determine  that  these  gigantic  liones  represent  a  relative  of  Dinkh- 
thys, and  yet  one  widely  different.     The  area  of  corresponding  jiarts  is 
greater  in  rUankhthys  than  in  Dinkhthys,  but  all  the  superficial  bones  are 
much  lighter.     A  strong  frame-work  was,  however,  required  for  the  locomo- 
tive apparatus  of  so  large  a  fish,  and  some  of  the  bones  of  the  shoulder 
girdle  are  remarkably  massive  and  strong.     The  corocoid  (?),  for  example, 
is  nearly  two  feet  in  length,  and  one  end  is  a  massive,  subcylindrical  bono 
nearly  as  large  as  one's  arm.     The  clavicles  are  more  than  two  feet  in 
length,  but  were  composed  of  a  relatively  thin  shell  of  bone,  which  was 
once  lined  and  re-enforced  with  cartilage.     The  under  jaws  of  Titanichthys 
are  strikingly  unlike  those  of  Dinichfhys.     In  one  species,  T.  ClarMi,  they 
have  the  same  general  form ;  that  is,  the  posterior  end  is  a  spatulate  oar- 
blade,  the  anterior  more  massive,  turned  up  like  a  sled-runner;  while  in 
T.  Ao'issizii  the  entire  mandible,  though  nearly  three  feet  long,  is  a  slender 
rod      The  jaws  are,  however,  alike  in  this,  that  instead  of  having  cutting 
edges  or  rows  of  denticles  along  the  upper  margin  the  anterior  portion  is 
deeply  furrowed,  evidently  to  receive  some  kind  of  dental  apparatus  which 


=i-x:t=iiM:^aiasaissasa^im 


132 


PALEOZOIC  FISIIK8  OF  NORTH  AMERIOA. 


\l 


I  n 


has  disappeared.  This  may  have  consisted  of  one  or  several  bony  wedges, 
or  what  is  more  likely,  was  a  coutinj^  of  horn,  as  in  the  turtles.  Similar 
rods  i.0  the  mandibles  of  Titanichthys  At/assmi  have  been  found  beneath  the 
head  of  Iluj^h  Miller's  Astcrolepis  (Homostiiis,  Pander),  a  Placoderm  closely 
allied  to  Dinkhthys.  These  rods  would  be  useless  as  organs  of  prehension 
or  mastication,  and  the  thought  suggested  itself  to  me,  on  seeing  a  fine  series 
of  heads  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Traquair  at  Edinburgh,  that  they  must  have 
been  sheathed  in  horn.  The  jaws  of  Titanichthys  nowhere  show  the  con- 
densed tissue  and  acute  worn  edges  of  the  mandibles  of  Dinichthys,  and  it 
is  evident  that  such  a  bony  dentition  for  cutting  or  piercing  did  not  exist 
in  the  former  genus.  The  texture  of  the  bone  where  the  teeth  or  cutting 
edges  should  bo  is  porous,  and  shows  no  evidence  of  wear  or  use;  hence  it 
seems  inevitable  tluit  it  must  have  been  sheatlied  with  some  denser  material, 
that  encountered  the  wear  and  violence  to  which  dental  organs  are  exposed. 

Nothing  corresponding  to  the  plastron  of  Dinichthys  and  Coccosteus, 
composed  of  five  distinct  plates,  has  been  found  associated  with  the  other 
bones  of  Titanichthys,  but  instead  a  single  large  triangular  plate,  which  may 
have  been  its  representative;  at  least  its  symmetry  indicates  that  it  was 
placed  on  the  median  ^''ne,  and,  since  the  back  was  covered  with  a  dorsome- 
dian  plate,  we  are  compelled  to  locate  it  on  the  under  side  of  the  body. 

The  affinities  of  Dinichthys  and  Coccosteus  have  been  referred  to  in  my 
description  of  Dinichthys  in  the  Pala3ontology  of  Ohio,  and  it  is  certain  that 
Titanichthys,  Astcrolepis  (Homostiiis  of  Pander),  Heterostius,  and  Coccosteus 
form  a  natural  and  closely  assimilated  group.  The  jaws  of  Coccosteus  are 
imperfectly  shown  by  Agassiz  and  Pander,  and  there  was  perhaps  some 
variation  of  form  in  the  different  species;  those  they  describe  being  narrow, 
flattened  rods  two  or  three  inches  long,  bearing  denticles  on  the  upper 
margin  near  the  anterior  extremity.  But  I  found  in  the  British  Museum  a 
number  of  jaws  of  Coccosteus  discovered  since  Hugh  Miller,  Agassiz,  and 
Pander  wrote  about  these  fishes,  in  which  the  form  is  essentially  tliat  of 
Dinichthyt,,  viz:  the  anterior  extremity  is  turned  up  and  forms  a  prominent 
denticle,  and  the  whole  organ  is  only  a  miniature  copy  of  the  mandible  of 
Dinichthys  Hertzeri.  The  difference  in  size  is,  however,  very  striking;  one 
being  three  inches  long,  the  other  two  feet. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


133 


TiTANiCHTHYS  AoAssizii,  Newb. 
Plate  I,  Figs.  1,  2;  Plate  li,  Figs.  1,  2;  Plate  IV,  Fig.  4. 

Cranium  about  four  feet  broad  at  tlie  occiput,  triangular  in  outline, 
three  feet  or  more  in  length,  the  nasal  portion  being  imperfect  in  air  the 
specimens  known.  The  surface  of  the  cranium  is  smooth  or  somewhat 
granulated,  and  is  marked  by  incised  lines,  as  is  the  cranium  oiBinkhthys; 
but  these  lines  form  a  different  pattern.  The  supra-scapulas  of  Owen— 
which  should,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  supra-clavicles— are  rhomboidal  or 
trapezoidal  in  form  and  are  about  fifteen  inches  in  the  longest  diameter. 
The  clavicles  are  two  feet  in  length  by  eight  inches  broad  in  the  middle, 
strongly  turned  forward  and  narrowed  at  the  lower  end.  The  mandibles 
are  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  in  length,  subcylindrical  or  subtrian 
gular  rods  of  bone,  roughly  rounded  or  pointed  behind  and  gently  curved 
upward  at  the  anterior  extremity,  where  the  upper  surface  is  excavated  by 
a  deep  groove,  which  is  broader  and  more  shallow  anteriorly,  giving  to  the 
extremity  of  the  jaw  the  form  of  a  gouge. 

The  suborbital  bones  are  triangular  in  outline,  sixteen  inches  or  more 
in  length,  the  anterior  end  pointed,  the  posterior  rounded,  and  the  upper 
margin  excavated  in  r  u-oad  sinus  around  the  eye.  The  surface  is  marked 
by  two  intersecting  curved  lines  similar  to  those  on  the  corresponding  bone 
of  Dinichthys. 

The  figures  given  on  PL  I  are  inside  and  outside  views  of  the  cranium 
drawn  from  photographs,  and  are  about  one-ninth  the  natural  size  linear. 

The  type  specimen  is  now  in  possession  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  to  which  it  was  given  by  Prof  Alexander 
Agassiz. 

TiTANiCHTHYS  Clarkii,  Newb. 

Plate  II,  Figs.  3,  4 ;  Plate  III,  Figs.  1-4. 

Cranium  triangular  in  outline,  four  feet  four  inches  in  breadth  across 
the  occiput,  surface  smooth  or  granular,  marked  by  incised  lines,  which  form 
a  pattern  indistinctly  shown  in  the  specimens  yet  obtained ;  supra-scapulas 
subrhomboidal  in  outline,  twenty  inches  in  width  by  thirteen  inches  in 
antero-posterior  diameter ;  clavioles  twenty -two  inches  long  by  eight  inches 


184 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


II  a 


{if* 


■'  f 


1     i£ 


wide  without  the  curved  point;  corocold  (?)  twenty -two  inches  long,  for 
one  hsilf  its  length  <a  solid  subcylindrical  bone  three  inches  in  diameter,  the 
other  half  fun-shaped  and  thinner.  The  mandibles  are  nearly  three  feet  in 
length,  the  posterior  end  smooth,  thin,  spatulate,  and  curved  downward,  the 
anterior  end  gently  curved  upward,  nan'owed  to  an  obtuse,  gouge-like  point 
and  excavated  in  a  deep  furrow,  of  which  the  external  margin  is  the  higher 
and  thinner ;  on  the  inside  the  niargin  is  thicker  and  rounded. 

Portions  of  the  mandibles  of  this  species  were  found  some  years  since 
by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell  in  the  Cleveland  shale  on  French  Creek,  in  Lorain 
County,  Ohio,  but  their  nature  was  not  recognized  until  explained  by  the 
discovery  of  two  crania,  with  mandibles  and  many  other  bones,  by  Dr. 
William  Clark  in  the  Clevelaiul  shale  on  the  banks  of  Rocky  River,  near 
his  place  of  residence,  Berea,  Ohio. 

With  commendable  enthusiasm  and  industry  Dr.  Clark  has  followed 
up  his  first  discovery  by  others,  until  he  has  now  gathered  a  magnificent  and 
unique  collection  of  the  remains  of  the  great  fish  which  has  been  named  in 
his  honor. 

Among  the  mand'bles  of  T.  Clarkii  found  at  Berea  and  on  French 
Creek,  Lorain  County,  Ohio,  are  some  noticeable  diflferences.  Those 
obtained  in  the  valley  of  Rocky  River  by  Dr.  Clark  are  represented  some- 
what restored  in  Plate  II,  Figs.  3,  4.  They  are  nearly  three  feet  in  length,- 
the  posterior  spatulate  end  about  six  inches  wide  and  about  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  thick  in  the  middle.  A  nearly  complete  mandible  obtained  by 
Mr.  Terrell  in  Lorain  County  is  about  two  and  one-half  feet  long  and  much 
lighter,  the  posterior  end  being  very  thin.  Another  mandible  from  French 
Creek,  of  which  the  posterior  half  is  complete,  the  anterior  ])ortion  imperfect, 
is  very  much  heavier.  Compared  with  the  otlier  from  the  same  locality 
mentioned  above,  and  whicii  has  nearly  the  same  linear  dimensions,  this  is 
fully  twice  as  thick  and  strong.  These  differences  may  be  individual,  sex- 
ual, or  specific ;  the  accumulation  of  more  material  will  doubtless  decide 
which,  but  meantime  I  have  thought  it  best  to  notice  them. 

In  comparing  the  bones  of  the  two  species  of  Titankhtliys  here  described 
the  differences  in  the  mandibles  will  strike  the  most  casual  observer,  and 
will  perhaps  suggest  the  question  whether  the  two  forms  are  generically 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


135 


identical.  But  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  plan  of  structure  in  essontijilly  the 
same  in  both  forms;  that  is,  they  are  weak  as  comi)ared  with  the  corresjjond- 
ing  bones  in  J)inichfhi/t;  are  alike  in  wanting  teeth  or  cutting  edges  and  in 
possessing  a  deep  furrow  on  the  upper  side  of  the  anterior  end.  We  lack 
materials  for  making  satisfactoiy  comparisons  with  all  the  other  portions  of 
the  bony  structure,  but  it  may  be  said  that  the  crania  are  very  much  alike 
and  the  peculiar  articulation  Avith  the  supra-scapular  plates  are  the  same  in 
both.  These  latter  plates  are  also  generally  simihr  in  both  species,  and  the 
same  may  probably  be  said  of  the  clavicles,  though  the  material  in  hand  is 
too  imperfect  for  accurate  comparison. 

The  dorsomedian  plate  is  present  in  one  of  the  specimens  T.  Clarkii, 
also  a  large  plate  represented  by  PI.  Ill,  Fig.  1,  which  nmst  have  served  for 
the  protection  of  the  under  side  of  the  body  or  head.  Nothing  correspond- 
ing to  either  of  these  two  last-mentioned  plates  has  been  found  in  connection 
witii  the  remains  of  T.  Agassizii,  but  the  missing  parts  will  doubtless  be  dis- 
covered in  the  ftiture.  The  suborbital  plates  of  the  two  species  represented 
on  PI.  Ill,  Fig.  2,  and  PI.  IV,  Fig.  4,  are  very  similar  though  distinct,  and  both 
are  very  much  like  the  corresponding  plates  in  Dinichthjs  and  Coccosfcus. 
From  these  facts  it  will  be  seen  that  the  resemblances  outweigh  the  differ- 
ences, and  that  the  probabilities  are  decidedly  in  favor  of  generic  identity. 

By  the  purchase  of  Dr.  Clark's  collection  Columbia  College  has  come 
into  possession  of  all  the  specimens  of  Titanichthi/s  Clarkii  known,  and  they 
are  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  School  of  Mines. 

On  the  Structure  and  Relations  of  Dinichthys. 

Since  my  papers  on  Dinichthys  were  published  in  the  Paleontology  of 
Ohio  in  1875,  a  large  amount  of  material  has  been  collected,  chiefly  by  Mr. 
Jay  Terrell,  of  Oberlin,  Ohio,  which  throws  considerable  additional  light 
on  the  structure  of  the  great  Placoderm  that  bears  the  name  of  its  discov- 
erer, D.  Terrelli.  Also  a  number  of  new  species  have  been  found,  some  of 
which  present  most  interesting  peculiarities.  D.  Gouldii,  for  example,  had 
enormous  eyes  and  the  eyeball  was  surrounded  by  a  series  of  sclerotic 
plates  similar  to  those  of  Ichthyosaurus.  D.  intermedius  is  another  peculiar 
species,  in  which  the  denticles  of  the  mandibles  and  maxillaries  so  conspicu- 


136 


PAIiEOZOIC  PISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEUICA. 


r 


IS         I 


r-- 


:■ 


0U8  in  D.  Ilertzeri,  of  tlio  ITiiron  hIihIo — ihci  first  specicH  found — nro  repre- 
sented by  a  few  conipreswed  teeth  iit  the  posterior  ends  of  tlio  cutting  edges, 
which  in  this,  as  in  all  the  later  species,  constitute  the  effective  element  in 
the  dentition.  These  and  other  new  species  are  described  in  this  memoir, 
and  therefore  no  further  reference  to  them  is  needed  hero.  I  have  also 
referred  elsewhere  to  the  discovery  of  the  bony  eye-capsules  of  7).  Terrclli, 
as  well  as  to  the  pair  of  plates  which  apparently  protected  the  arched  space 
between  the  mandibles  (PI.  VI,  Figs.  1,  I*). 

The  opening  of  a  new  locality  rich  in  fossil  fishes  in  the  valley  of  the 
Cuyahoga  and  the  subtirbs  of  Cleveland  has  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
material  which  has  afforded  valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  structure 
of  Linichthys,  and  has  compelled  the  correction  of  some  errors  in  my  former 
descriptions.  Among  the  fossils  collected  at  this  point  by  Dr.  William 
Clark  are  several  heads  oV  Dinichthijs  intcrmedius,  which  show  the  structure 
with  more  completeness  than  any  specimens  before  obtained.  In  most  of 
the  crania  of  Dinkhthys  obtained  in  Lorain  County  by  Mr.  Terrell  the 
plates  composing  the  cranium  are  so  finnly  united  that  their  number,  forms, 
and  relations  could  hardly  be  made  out.  Those  found  in  the  new  locality 
give  us  views  of  both  the  interior  and  exterior  surfaces,  where  we  can  trace 
all  the  component  parts.  Some  of  these  specimens  are  represented  on  Pis. 
LI  and  LI  I,  and  the  points  of  structure  now  reported  are  there  more  or  less 
distinctly  visible.  The  most  important  contribution  made  by  these  speci- 
mens to  our  knowledge  of  the  head  of  Dinkhthys  is  shown  in  the  outside 
view  of  the  entire  cranium  of  D.  internmllus,  PI.  LI ;  where  the  suborbital 
plates,  here  in  position,  are  seen  to  be  the  bones  which  we  have  hereto- 
fore considered  as  the  posterior  lateral  plates  of  the  plastron.  Inside  and 
outside  views  of  one  of  those  bones  are  given  on  PI.  XLVII,  Figs.  1,  1". 
This  species,  which  is  nmcli  smaller  than  J).  Terre/li,  has  the  suborbital 
plates  relatively  very  short.  The  position  of  the  pair  disinterred  in  the  find 
made  by  Mr.  Terrell,  which  arnished  the  originals  of  the  life-size  figures  on 
the  charts  that  accompany  volume  2  of  the  Paheontology  of  Ohio,  was  such, 
that  they  were  naturally  referred  to  the  plastron  and  were  grouped  with  the 
central  sternum-like  plate  and  the  two  anterior  lateral  plates,  which  certainly 
belonged  to  the  ventral  armor.     The  later  discoveries  render  it  probable 


FISHES  OP  THE  CAUBONIFEROU8  8V8TEM. 


137 


that  they  shouhl  be  referred  to  the  HidcH  of  tlie  head,  and  that  their  Hupposed 
phices  were  really  occupied  by  oblong  or  elliptical  thinner  plates  which 
were  partly  covered  with  inte^rmuont,  and  which  have  none  of  the  incised 
lines  that  characterize  all  of  the  cranial  plates. 

In  />.  Tcrrelli  the  suborbital  plates  are  sometimes  eighteen  inches  in 
length  and  eight  inches  wide,  oblong  in  outline,  rounded  behind,  and  with- 
out any  evidence  of  contact  with  other  plates.     Hence  it  is  not  strange  that 
they  were  considered  the  homologues  of  the  "post-ventro-lateral"  plates  of 
Coccosteus.     In  I),  intennedius,  however,  they  are  much  shorter,  and  closely 
resemble  in  form  and  markings  the  suborbital  bones  of  Coccosteus.     They 
show,  too,  the  incised  lines  which  are  wanting  on  the  other  bones  of  the 
plastron  and  are  traceable  on  all  the  cranial  plates.     It  is  u  singular  fact 
that  the  pattern  formed  by  these  lines  is  the  same  in  general  plan  in  J)i- 
nkld/ii/s  and  Coccosteus,  and  is  practically  alike  on  the  suborbital  bones  of 
Dinkhthys,  Coccosteus,  and  Titankhthys.     Hence  the  positi.n  of  these  subor- 
bital plates  in  the  cranium  now  figured  would  seem  to  be  normal,  and  we 
must  replace  them  by  others  in  the  posterior  part  of  the  plastron.     That 
otiier  plates  did  occupy  this  position  is  j)roved  by  the  rhondjoidal  expansion 
of  the  posterior  end  of  the  sternal  plate,  which  by  its  beveled  n)argins  shows 
that  it  was  overlapped  by  other  plates  on  all  sides.     Since  the  bones  of  the 
plastron  are  always  separated,  we  can  only  be  guided  in  its  reconstruction 
by  Hnding  places  for  all  the  cranial  and  dorsal  ijlates,  so  as  to  complete  the 
defenses  of  the  upper  side  of  the  body,  and  then  distribute  the  j)late8  which 
covered  the  under  surface  according  as  they  ada))t  themselves  to  those  of 
which  the  places  are  known.     The  plates  of  the  under  side  of  the  body  were 
relatively  thin,  devoid  of  surface  ornamentation,  and  were  probably  to  a  more 
or  less  degree  (-overed  with  an  integument.     Of  these,  a  pair  which  when 
united  formed  by  their  outlines  a  Gothic  arch,  I  have  supposed  to  be  jugular 
plates,  which  filled  the  space  between  the  mancUbles.     One  of  these  is  rep- 
resented by  outside  and  inside  views,  half  size,  on  PI.  VI,  Figs.  1,  1».     They 
are  each  semi-elliptical  in  outline,  sixteen  inches  in  length  by  seven  and  a 
half  wide;  the  anterior  ends  are  pointed  ;  the  outer  nuugin  is  symmetrically 
{irched ;  the  inner  margin  nearly  straight ;  the  posterior  eiuls  are  obliquely 
truncated  and  overlapped  by  the  anterior  extremity  of  a  second  pair  of 


188 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOBTU    .MBIUOA. 


plates.  The  firat  pair  are  Hniootli  on  the  outer  surface,  about  lialf  an  inch 
in  tliicknosH,  the  nuiler  Hide  nearly  tsinonth  hut  Honiewhat  nuliately  nnirkcd, 
aH  ni(»Ht  of  the  platcH  of  IMacoderniH  are.  Alonjj;  their  inner  n)argins  they 
overlap,  ho  that  tlie  points  are  brouj^ht  near  toj^ether.  liy  a  Hin;,''uiar  and 
ingenious  device  they  are  prevented  froni  slipping  on  each  other  by  a  deep 
notch  in  the  edge  of  the  upper  plate,  which  surrounds  and  is  filled  by  a  cor- 
responding conical  ridge  rising  from  the  surface  of  the  under  plate  ;  by  this 
key  they  were  firndy  locked  together.  The  posterior  pair  of  jugulars — or 
as  they  should  perhaps  be  called,  hyoid  plates — are  long-triangular  in  out- 
line, smaller  than  the  anterior  pair,  but  much  thicker.  Their  anterior  angles 
overlap  and  are  sunk  into  the  oblicpiely  truncated  ends  of  the  jugulars. 
The  outside  and  posterior  ends  of  the  hyoid  plates  are  irregular  and  thin, 
and  show  that  they  were  overlapped  by  other  plates. 

I  have  been  led  to  conclude  that  the  four  plates  just  described  covered 
the  under  portion  of  the  head,  because  they  were  plainly  on  the  median 
line,  and  when  in  apjmsition  formed  a  shield,  which  had  the  proper  outli'" 
and  would  nicel}'  fill  the  otherwise  defenseless  area  between  the  mandil 
and  {interior  to  the  j)lastron.  It  is  evident  that  while  so  flat  and  so  firmly 
locked  together  they  would  not  be  adapted  to  the  protection  of  the  posterior 
part  of  the  body  behind  the  plastron  or  the  dorsomedian  plate,  the  after  part 
of  the  })ody  requiring  more  flexibility  than  they  would  permit. 

No  figure  is  given  of  the  plates  which  are  supposed  to  have  formed 
the  posterior  half  of  the  plastron,  because  no  perfect  ones  have  been  found, 
but  I  have  numerous  fragments  of  relatively  large  plates  which  must  have 
been  oblong  in  form  and  had  the  moderate  and  uniform  thickness  and 
plainness  of  surface  which  characterize  the  plates  that  defended  the  under 
side  of  the  body.  As  they  are  apparently  assignable  to  no  other  place  in 
the  armor  of  Dinkhthys  I  provisionally  locate  them  here. 

Dr.  Traquair,  in  his  important  paper  published  in  the  Geological 
Magazine  of  January,  1889,  calls  the  suborbital  bones  of  Coccosteus  the 
maxillaries,  ai.d  that  would  seem  to  be  the  most  natural  reading  of  the 
anatomical  structure.  But  in  Dinkhthys  Terrelli  the  denial  armature  of  the 
upper  jaw  consists  of  a  cleaver-like  plate,  of  which  the  lower  cutting  edge 
played  on  the  upper  margin  of  the  mandible  like  the  blades  of  shears;  a 


li« 


FISHES  OP  TDK  CAUBONIFEROUH  SYSTEM. 


139 


very  poculinr  and  effoctivo  stylo  of  (lentition.  T\m  plato  I  havo  called 
tlio  maxillary,  tlioufjli  (listinctly  Htating  that  it  was  not  proved  to  be  the 
lioniologiio  of  iliat  organ  in  other  Mwh  or  the  higher  vertebrates.  In  T). 
Ifnizrri,  of  the  Hnron  Hhale,  tlm  first  described  species  of  the  genus,  the 
"niaxillaries,"  like  the  margins  of  the  mandil)les,  are  set  with  acute  denti- 
cles; and  in  J),  intermvdhis,  now  described,  wo  see  a  connecting  link 
between  the  two  forms,  the  posterior  margins  of  the  cutting  edges  of  the 
niaxillaries  and  mandibles  being  set  with  compressed  and  scarcely  functional 
denticles.  The  relations  which  the  plates  1  havo  called  niaxillaries  sustain 
to  the  "sidiorbital  jdates"  of  Owen,  the  "niaxillaries"  of  Tra(]uair,  aro 
intimate,  since  the  former  rest  upon  and  aro  sujiported  by  the  processes  of 
the  latter,  which  pass  beneath  and  form  the  lower  margins  of  the  eye-orbits. 
Yet  there  was  no  bony  union  between  them,  and  thoy  are  always  found 
separated.  TTence,  if  the  suborbital  bone  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  true 
maxillary,  f  se  cutting  jdates  must  bo  considered  as  modified  teeth;  a 
view  which  1  am  inclined  to  adopt. 

A  similar  question  arises  with  reference  to  the  homologies  of  the  dental 
organs  at  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  head.  Professor  Huxley  calls  the 
T-shajied  plate  which  terminates  the  snout  the  pro-maxillary,  while  Dr. 
Tiwpiair  calls  it  the  anterior  ethmoid,  and  two  little  plates  which  are  situ- 
ated on  either  side  of  it  in  Coccostcus — plates  not  mentioned  liy  Huxley— 
the  pre-maxillaries.  In  Dhiirhfhijs  there  were  apparently  no  plates  corre- 
sponding to  these  so-called  pre-maxillaries  in  Corrosteus,  but  instead  are 
two  great  triangular  dental  organs,  which  meet  on  the  median  line  and, 
diverging,  interlock  with  the  upturned  points  of  the  mandibles.  These  teeth 
I  have  provisionally  called  the  pre-maxillaries,  and  if  they  were  not  such, 
the  nasal  plate  must  be  considered  as  tlie  pre-niaxillaiy,  and  my  "pre-max- 
illaries" as  teeth,  which  are  supported  by  the  nasal  bono  in  part  and  partly 
by  the  anterior  edge  of  the  jireorbital  plate.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the 
dentition  of  Dinkhthys,  though  remarkably  effective,  is  very  peculiar,  and, 
so  far  as  1  know,  without  analogy  with  that  of  any  other  vertebrate  than 
Protoptcrus;  with  this  it  lias  much  in  common,  especially  if  we  consider  the 
two  great  anterior  teeth  as  the  homologues  of  the  two  so-called  vomerine 
teeth  of  Protoptertis  annectens. 


140 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


To  proceed  with  our  analysis  of  the  cranial  plates  of  Dinichthys,  we 
find  tlie  nasal  plate  jiist  referred  to  succeeded  behind  by  an  oblong  or 
elliptical  plate,  which  corresponds  to  the  posterior  ethmoidal  of  Traquair  in 
the  figure  cited,  liy  Huxlev  it  h  denominated  the  ethmoid.  In  all  our 
specimens  of  Dinichthys  we  find  in  this  plate  what  is  not  indicated  or 
described  by  Pander  or  Traquair,  a  remarkable  conical  opening,  which  I 
have  considered  the  pineal  fontanelle,  so  marked  a  character  in  the  crania 
of  the  buckler-headed  Siluroids,  Arius,  Phradocephalus,  etc.  It  is  broad- 
trumpet-shaped,  though  oblique  below,  and  penetrates  the  exterior  wall  of 
the  cranium  by  a  minute  but  persistent  circular  orifice. 

The  anterior  angle  of  the  head  is  formed  by  a  quadrate  plate,  of 
wl'.ich  the  outer  margin  is  thin  and  excavated  in  an  arch  that  forms  the 
upper  border  of  the  eye-orbit.  This  is  the  plate  called  prefrontal  by 
Huxley,  preorbital  by  Traquair,  It  is  followed  behind  by  an  oblong 
plate,  veiy  thick  and  massive,  with  a  strong  ridge  below,  bearing  a  robust 
columnar  process,  seen  in  both  the  views  now  given  of  the  interior  of  the 
cranium  of  Dinichthys.  The  outer  surface  of  this  plate  is  marked  in  Dinich- 
thys as  in  Coccosteus  by  an  intersection  of  the  incised  lines  which  constitute 
the  surface  ornamentation  so  conspicuous  in  both.*  By  Dr.  Traquair  this 
is  called  the  post-orbital  plate.  Behind  this  is  a  triangular  plate  or  bone 
which  terminates  in  a  point  and  is  the  prominent  lateral  angle  of  the  head; 
more  pointed  and  posterior  than  in  Coccodms.  3r.  Traquair  calls  its  homo- 
logue  in  Coccosteus  the  marginal  plate.  I  have  represented  a  small  specimen 
of  this  bone  from  the  head  of  D.  TeirelU  on  PI.  L,  Fig.  1. 

The  middle  portion  u"  the  posterior  margin  of  the  head  in  Dinichthys 
is  formed  by  an  extremely  massive  bone  sometimes  two  inches  in  thickness, 
which  has  a  triangular  point  at  its  center  behind,  as  in  Coccosteus.  This 
plate  is  rarely  found  detached  in  D.  Tcrrelli,  but  one  such,  seen  from  below 
is  shown  on  pi.  59  of  volume  2,  PaljEontology  of  Ohio.  Near  its  center  arc 
the  two  pits,  which  are  characteristic  features  of  this  bone  in  Jlomosteus, 
Heterosteiis,  and  Titanichthys.  By  Owen  and  Huxley  the  plate  occupying 
this  position  is  called  the  supraoccipital;  by  Dr.  Traquair,  the  medianoc- 


Tho  "lateral  line  system"  of  Tra<iuair;  the  "Uaat  (Sohleim)  Caniilo"  (mnous  furrows)  of  von 


Koenen. 


FISHES  OF  THE  OARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


141 


cipital.  Ill  D.  minor  it  seems  to  have  been  easily  separable  from  the  other 
portions  of  the  cranium,  for  we  have  many  disarticulated  specimens  of  it. 
One  cf  these  is  figured  on  PI.  VIII,  devoted  to  that  species. 

Between  the  supraoccipital  and  the  marginal  the  space  is  occupied  by 
an  oblong  and  relatively  thin  plate,  almost  nev-.-  separated  from  its  asso- 
ciates except  by  fracture.  This  is  the  plate  called  by  Dr.  Traquair  external- 
occipital,  fully  identified  by  its  incised  Hues  and  by  its  articulation  with 
the  supra-scapula;  it  is  called  by  Huxley  the  parietal-epiotic.  In  Coccosteus 
it  is  triangular  in  outline,  but  in  Dinichthjs  it  is  narrowed  behind  by  the 
angle  of  the  head  being  brought  so  far  backward.  This  is  the  plate  with 
which  the  suprascapula  articulates  in  the  wonderful  joint  to  which  I  have 
so  frequently  made  reference.  It  is  pierced  at  its  inner  posterior  angle  by 
a  vertical,  thimble-like  socket,  into  which  the  condyle  of  the  suprascapula 
fits  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  be  withdrawn  without  being  lifted  vertically. 
Apparently  to  prevent  the  binding  of  this  joint,  a  thumb-like  guard  is  thrown 
out  from  the  angle  of  the  head  and  passes  under  the  edge  of  the  supra- 
scapula 

The  central  portion  of  the  head  in  Dinichthys  is  occupied  by  an  irregu- 
lar plate,  which  is  probably  divided  by  a  suture  down  the  middle,  though 
never  separating  along  this  line.  It  is  identifiable  by  its  relations  to  the 
surrounding  plates  and  by  the  lines  of  ornament  (essentially  the  same  in 
both  genera)  with  the  plate  in  the  cranium  of  Coccosteus  called  frontal  by 
Huxley  and  central  by  Traquair. 

The  defenses  of  the  back  of  Dinichthys  formed  by  the  great  dorsal  plate 
and  the  supra-scapulas  have  been  so  fully  described  in  the  Report  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Ohio,  that  little  more  remains  to  be  said  about  them. 
The  resemblance  of  the  dorsal  plate  of  Coccosteus  to  that  carried  on  the 
back  of  some  of  the  plated  Siluroids  has  been  remarked  upoii  by  Huxley, 
Owen,  and  Hugh  Miller.  The  snnihirity  is  as  marked  in  the  dorsal  of  Dinich- 
thys. Its  position  and  functions  are  not  only  the  same,  but  it  is  supported 
by  a  process  extending  from  the  posterior  margin  down  to  the  neural  spines, 
just  as  the  dorsal  plates  of  the  Siluroids  are ;  so  that  there  c?n  hardly  be  a 
doubt  of  its  being  their  homologue  and  an  inherited  character ;  one  of  the 
many  which  connect  the  Siluroids  and  the  Placoderms.     The  form  of  this 


142 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEIilOA. 


.1. 


plate  varies  considerably  in  the  different  species ;  being  quadrangular  in  D. 
TcrrelU  and  D.  intertnedius,  more  rounded  in  D.  Gouhlii  and  D.  minor. 

The  suprascapulas  are  oblong  and  closely  resemble  in  all  things  but 
size  those  of  Coccosteus.  Their  upper  margins  are  overlapped  by  the  dorsal 
plate,  while  the  lower  margin  is  covered  by  the  bifurcated  expansion  of  the 
clavicles.  These  latter  have  never  before  been  figured,  though  good  speci- 
mens have  been  in  my  possession  for  several  years.  One  of  a  complete 
pair  Is  represented,  one-third  natural  size,  by  inside  and  outside  views  on 
PI.  XLVIII. 

Internal  bones  belonging  to  the  shoulder  girdle  have  been  found  in 
many  instances.  These  I  have  provisionally  called  coracoids,  but  I  am  by 
no  means  sure  of  their  proper  relations.  They  are  sometimes  a  foot  and  a 
half  in  length,  somewhat  curved,  subcylindrical  at  one  end  and  in  the  mid- 
dle, expanded  and  flattened  at  the  other ;  are  nearly  as  large  as  one's  arm, 
and  consist  of  dense  bony  tissue. 

On  PI.  VI  is  figured  a  triangular  bone  with  which  I  have  long  been 
familiar,  but  I  am  not  yet  able  to  fix  with  certainty  its  position  on  the  body. 
It  is  sometimes  an  inch  in  thickness  at  the  center  and  the  largest  specimens 
are  nearly  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length.  Only  the  central  portion  was  ex- 
posed, the  ends  and  curved  margin  being  deeply  marked  by  the  impressions 
of  overlying  plates.  A  short  furrow  belonging  to  the  lateral  line  system 
passes  from  what  was  apparently  the  upper  side  to  about  the  center  of  the 
exposed  portion  and  there  vanishes.  The  straight  or  nearly  straight  edge 
is  rounded,  shows  no  indications  of  contact  with  other  jjlates,  and  was 
evidently  free.  Two  places  have  suggested  themselves  as  possible  for  this 
plate:  one  behind  and  overlapped  by  the  suborbital  plate,  in  that  case 
forming  the  continuation  of  the  upper  margin  of  the  mouth ;  another  and 
more  probable  place  was  in  the  angle  between  the  lateral  margin  of  the 
dorsal  plate  and  the  posterior  margin  of  the  supi'ascapula.  From  the  con- 
dyle on  the  anterior  margin  of  the  latter  plate  a  furrow  runs  obliquely 
backward  to  the  posterior  margin  and  would  seem  to  have  been  continued 
on  some  adjacent  plate.  A  similar  triangular  plate  occupies  this  position 
in  Coccostetts,  and  waiting  the  time  when  it  shall  be  found  in  its  normal  place, 
we  may  provisionally  fix  it  here. 


FISHi:S  OF  THE  CAIIBONIFEIIOUS  SYSTEM. 


143 


The  mandibles  of  Dinichthys  TerreUi  and  1).  Hcrtzeri  have  been  already 
fully  figured  and  described.'  I  now  give  good  figures  of  the  mandibles  of 
B.  intermedins  and  less  satisfactory  ones  of  mce  miperfect  jaws  of  some  of 
the  smaller  species.-  They  exhibit  considerable  diversity  of  form,  and  it  is 
desirable  that  when  more  perfect  specimens  are  found  they  shall  be  repre- 
sented so  as  to  show  the  range  of  variation  :n  this  part  of  the  bony  structure. 
In  I).  Goiildii  the  cutting  edge  was  nearly  straight,  the  bevel  more  obtuse 
than  in  the  krger  species;  the  posterior  end  was  also  much  narrower, 
straighter,  and  thicker  relatively  than  in  any  other  known  to  me. 

My  remarks  on  the  relations  and  structure  of  BimcMhys  contained  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  Pala?ontology  of  Ohio  were  written  before  we  had 
obtained  a  complete  suite  of  the  bones,  and  I  was  therefore  unable  to  point 
out  all  of  the  features  which  it  had  in  common  with  Coccosteus.  Later  dis- 
coveries strengthen  the  force  of  the  comparison  then  made.  The  cranial 
plates,  the  suborbitals,  the  suprascapular  and  dorsal  plates  are  as  much  alike 
as  possible  with  the  differences  in  the  general  form  of  the  head,  which  is  hex- 
agonal in  Coccosteus  and  triangular  in  Dinichthys.  So  the  plastron  is  com- 
posed of  homologous  plates  having  practically  the  same  number  and  similar 
forms,  although  in  Coccosteus  the  sternal  element  consists  of  an  anterior 
triangular  plate  and  a  rhomboidal  central  one,  while  in  Bimchthys  they  are 
connected  bv  a  bony  band. 

It  has  1m  en  supposed  that  the  dentition  of  Coccosteus  and  that  of  Binich- 
thys  were  radically  different,  but  I  have  learned  that  they  were  very  much 
alike.  The  mandibles  of  Coccosteus  that  have  been  figured  are  all  imperfect, 
the  anterior  ends  being  crushed,  distorted,  or  wanting;  yet,  as  I  have  men- 
tioned elsewhere,  I  recently  found  in  the  Sauth  Kensington  Museum  a  man- 
dible of  Coccosteus  which  was  a  perfect  aiiniature  of  that  of  Binichthys,  being 
spatulate  posteriorly  and  having  the  anterior  end  turned  up  to  form  a  con- 
spicuous denticle.  In  regard  to  the  dentition  of  the  uj)per  jaw  in  Coccosteus 
we  are  as  yet  not  well  informed,  and  therefore  a  satisfactory  comparison  can 

not  bo  made. 

The  foramen  which  penetrates  the  center  of  the  head  of  Bimchthys, 
passing  through  the  middle  of  the  ethmoid  plate,  has  been  referred  to  above. 

~  Pftleouioh^f  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  316,  pi.  30;  vol.  2,  pp.  7,  f,  chart  V.      ''  ThiBMouogruph,  PU.  X,  LXUI. 


IBB 


!■■ 


144 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOKTII  AMEUIOA. 


Ml 


It  is  as  distinctly  marked  in  tlie  head  of  Titanichthys,  and  its  position  is  indi- 
cated in  the  figure  of  the  cranium  of  T.  Agassizii  given  on  PI.  I  and  cojjied 
from  a  photograph.  I  have  also  represented  the  inside  of  the  ethmoidal 
plate  of  Dinichfhys  with  the  funnel-shaj)ed  orifice  penetrating  it  on  PI.  LI, 
Fig.  3.  It  seems  to  be  homologous  with  the  aperture  in  the  cranium  of 
Keptiles,  Amphibians,  and  the  Siluroid  fishes  which  has  been  called  the 
pineal  eye,  and  about  which  so  much  has  recently  been  written.  It  has 
long  seemed  to  me  that  the  functions  of  this  aperture,  which  is  so  very 
marked  in  the  Siluroids,  should  be  investigated  by  the  microscopic  study 
of  the  soft  parts,  and  at  my  suggestion  Mr  Bashford  Dean,  one  of  my  stu- 
dents, has  begun  a  research  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  clear  up  this  ques- 
tion so  far  as  the  fislies  are  concerned. 

A  color  of  probability  is  given  to  the  suggestion  that  this  orifice  was  at 
one  time  an  eye,  by  the  fact  that  in  Ptcrichthys  and  Bothriolcpis  a  dumb- 
bell or  double  aperture  on  the  top  of  the  head  formed  almost  certainly  the 
organ  of  vision ;  no  other  eyes  being  known  in  these  fishes  and  no  other 
use  for  these  apertures  being  conceivable.  In  the  allied  but  ver  /  distinct 
Cephalaspis  the  eyes  are  separate  but  closely  approximated,  as  though  the 
ancestors  of  this  group  of  fishes  had  been  monoculous;  PtericJithys  and 
Cephalaspis  representing  difi'erent  stages  in  a  progressive  separation  of  the 
sight  organs.  If  this  were  true,  however,  Dinichthjs,  which  was  certainly 
as  old  as  either,  had  progressed  very  much  further  along  this  line  of  devel- 
opment ;  since  the  eyes  in  this  genus  were  as  fully  elaborated  and  special- 
ized as  in  any  living  fishes. 

It  is  certain  that  the  perforation  of  the  cranium  in  IHnichtliys  and  its 
allies,  as  well  as  in  the  buckler-headed  Siluroids,  in  which  the  brain-box  is 
so  strong  and  complete,  served  an  important  purpose,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Dean  will  tell  us  what  was  its  function. 

The  Fins  of  Dinichtuys. 

Plate  VII,  Figs.  1-1". 

Ossified  fin-rays  have  several  times  been  found  by  Mr.  Terrell  asso- 
ciated with  the  bones  and  plates  of  Dinichthys  Terrelli.  Usually  they  are 
separated,  but  in  some  cases  they  have  been  found  lying  side  by  side  in 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


145 


the  relative  positions  they  occupied  in  the  fin.     One  such  group  of  fin  rays 
is  shown  in  PI.  YII,  Fig.  1. 

The  individual  rays  are  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  and  a  half  inches 
in  length,  quadrangular  in  section,  half  an  inch  broad  by  three-eighths 
thick.  They  are  composed  of  a  shell  of  dense  bony  tissue  sun-ounding  a 
iavity  which,  in  uncrushed  specimens,  is  now  filled  with  pyrites,  and  was 
probably  once  occupied  by  cartilage.  The  articulations  are  not  preserved, 
and  they  were  apparently  cartilaginous.  These  fin  rays  probably  represent 
the  first  or  basal  row ;  the  exterior  subdivisions  having  disappeared,  perhaps 
because  they  were  cartilaginous,  perhaps  because  they  had  been  eaten  away 
by  some  of  tlic  smaller  fishes  of  the  sea  in  which  Binkhthys  lived. 

From  the  numbers  of  fin  rays  found  together,  a  dozen  or  more,  and 
these  forming  only  part  of  the  base  of  the  fin,  as  well  as  from  their  strength, 
straightness,  and  symmetry,  I  am  inclined  to  consider  such  groups  as  that 
now  figured  as  belonging  to  the  dorsal  fin. 

Remains  of  tlie  pectoral  fins  of  Diniclithys  have  been  earnestly  sought 
for,  and  it  seems  probable  that  they  have  finally  been  found.  In  the  remains 
of  Coccostcus  studied  by  Hugh  Miller,  Agassiz,  and  Sir  Philip  Egerton  no 
traces  of  pectoral  fins  were  met  with,  though  a  dorsal  fin  is  frequently  trace- 
able in  their  specimens.  Recently  Prof  A.  von  Koenen,  of  Gottingen,  has 
discovered,  in  connection  with  some  unusually  well-preserved  specimens  of 
Coccostcus,  what  he  considers  as  the  "  ruder  organe,"  or  pectoral  fin  spine. 
This  is  straight  and  stalf-like,  rounded  at  its  anterior,  pointed  at  its  pos- 
terior extremity;  on  its  outer  face  it  is  ornamented  with  the  characteristic 
tubercles  of  Coccostcus,  within  rough  or  longitudinally  striated,  as  though 
for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  a  fin  membrane,  or  soft  fin  rays.^ 

The  zoologic  affinity  between  Diniclithys  and  Coccostcus  is  so  intimate, 
that  it  was  to  be  expected  if  Coccostcus  had  fin  spines,  something  of  the  kind 
would  be  foimd  with  the  remains  of  J)inichthys,  and  I  am  now  able  to  report 
the  probable  discovery  of  these.  Alongside  the  outer  margin  of  the  plates 
composing  the  ventral  shield,  detached,  splint-like  bones  have  several  times 
been  noticed,  of  which  the  position  and  use  have  till  now  been  unsuspected. 

>  Beitrag  ziir  Keuutniss  der  Flacodermeu,  Abbaudl.  konig.  Geaell,  d,  Wisseu.  zu  Guttiugen,  vol. 
30,  1883. 

MON  XVI 10 


146 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTU  AMEIIICA. 


These,  I  am  iuclined  to  believe,  are  pectoral  spines  or  bony  supports  of  the 
pectoral  fins,  different  in  form  from  those  of  Coccosteus,  but  similar  to  them 
in  function.  These  bones  are  generally  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  length,  sub- 
triangular  in  section,  with  one  broad,  flat,  or  gently  arched  surface,  while  on 
the  other  side  is  an  obtuse  central  keel  with  sloping  sides.  The  ends  are 
irregularly  sharpened  as  though  buried  in  cartilage.  A  narrow  zone  of 
the  broader  surface  is  flattened  and  smooth  and  may  have  been  exposed, 
while  the  margins,  ends,  and  under  side  were  plainly  covered  with  integu- 
ment of  some  kind. 

Probably  these  bones  formed  the  anterior  margin  of  the  pectoral  fins, 
articulating  with  the  shoulder  girdle  by  a  cartilaginous  joint.  Confirmation 
of  this  view  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  they  ai-e  distinctly  in  pairs,  and  not 
more  than  one  or  two  have  been  found  with  any  group  of  Dinichthys  bones. 
Outside  and  inside  views  of  these  bones  are  given  on  PI.  V. 


k 


The  Eyes  of  Dinichthys. 
Plate  VII,  Figs.  2,  2». 

Only  one  head  of  Dinichthys  has  been  found  in  which  the  parts  were 
substantially  in  their  proper  positions.  This  was  obtained  in  1867  by  Mr. 
n.  Hertzer  from  a  calcareous  concretion  near  the  base  of  the  Huron  shale, 
at  Delaware,  Ohio.  The  entire  head  was  present,  but  the  occipital  portion 
was  considerably  mutilated  in  removing  the  stone  which  enveloped  it.  The 
anterior  extremity  of  the  head  showed  n  broad,  flattened  muzzle  with  the 
great  premaxillary  teeth  in  place ;  behind  these  the  maxillaries,  with  their 
denticulate  margins,  and  beneath  all  the  two  mandibles  with  their  extremi- 
ties turned  up,  forming  triangular  teeth,  which  interlocked  with  the  premax- 
illaries.  One  suborbital  bone  was  in  its  proper  position,  and  in  the  deep 
sinus  of  its  anterior  and  upper  side  the  place  of  the  eye  could  be  determined, 
but  nothing  was  left  of  it. 

In  subsequent  years  many  heads  of  Dinichthys  TerrelH  in  a  better  or 
worse  state  of  preservation  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  Erie.  In  some  of  these  the  cranium  was  nearly  complete,  but  the 
associated  plates,  jaws,  and  teeth  were  either  absent  or  scattered  irregularly 


l! 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAK150NI FERGUS  SYSTEM. 


147 


t 


iibout  in  the  vicinity.  None  of  these  heads  showed  any  traces  of  the  eye 
orbits,  and  they  remained  unknown  until  1885,  when  Drs.  Goukl  and 
Clark,  of  Berea,  Ohio,  found  in  the  valley  of  Kocky  Rive»-  the  head  of  a 
small  and  new  species  of  Dinkhlhys  (D.  Goiddii,  N  J,  of  which  the  eye  orbits 
were  preserved.  The  length  of  the  cranium  was  about  a  foot;  the  opening 
of  the  eye  was  elliptical  in  outline,  an  inch  by  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in 
diameter,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  circle  four  inches  in  diameter,  composed 
of  four  sclerotic  plates.  This  showed  that  the  eye  of  Dinkhthi/s  Gouldii  was 
nmch  like  that  of  Ichthyosaurus  and  relatively  as  large. 

In  regard  to  the  structure  of  the  external  eye  in  the  other  species  of 
D'michthys  we  have  until  recently  had  no  information.  It  was  deemed 
probable  tliat  their  eyes  were  provided  with  sclerotic  plates,  but  from  the 
fact  that  they  had  not  been  found  with  the  other  portions  of  the  head  I  had 
supposed  that  they  were  cartilaginous  and  had  perished.  Since  the  MS. 
for  this  monograph  was  sent  to  the  printers  a  head  oi" JHnichthys  curtiis  has 
been  found  by  Professor  Kepler  at  Linndale,  Ohio,  which  shows  that  the 
eyes  of  this  species  also  were  protected  by  bony  sclerotic  plates.  They  are 
described  on  another  page. 

Several  years  ago  Mr.  Terrell  called  my  attention  to  some  perforated 
bones  which  he  found  adhering  to  the  inside  of  the  skull  of  Binkhthys  Ter- 
relli.  They  were  not  always  in  the  same  position,  but  they  were  two  in 
number,  one  on  each  side,  and  located  well  within  and  near  the  anterior 
extren:ity  of  the  head.  These  bones  were  conical  in  form  and  elliptical  in 
section,  having  a  broad  excavated  cup  at  the  larger  end,  a  narrow  and 
deeper  one  at  the  smaller,  with  an  orifice  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
connecting  the  two  depressions.  The  shallower  cup  of  the  larger  end  was 
uniformly  arched  and  had  a  kind  of  raphe  on  the  bottom  along  the  line  of 
greatest  diameter.  From  this  radiated  a  series  of  dark  bands,  bundles  of 
tubes  or  fibers,  passing  with  great  regularity  and  exactness  to  the  lip  or 
margin  of  the  cup. 

These  singular  bodies  have  been  a  great  puzzle  to  me.  I  was  at  first 
disposed  to  consider  them  otoliths,  but  better-pre^.erved  specimens  showed 
the  hour-glass  structure  with  the  central  perforation  and  the  regularly  radi- 


148 


I'ALEOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I 


I 


;  I 


ating  bands  of  the  larger  cuj),  wliicli  were  characters  not  exliibited  by  the 
ear  stones  of  any  fishes  known  to  me  In  these  circumstances  I  was  forced 
to  regard  them  as  pai-t  of  the  optical  aijparatus,  and  a  study  of  the  organs 
of  sight  in  fishes  of  different  groups  h,  s  given  me  the  conviction  that  they 
are  the  optic  cajmtles,  which  held  the  lens  and  vitreous  humor  in  the  broader 
cup — of  which  tlie  margin  perhajjs  supported  a  circle  of  sclerotic  plates, 
perhaps  was  a  substitute  for  them — and  that  the  central  perforation  was  for 
the  passage  of  the  ojjtic  nerve.  In  most  fishes  of  the  present  day  the  eye 
capsule  consists  t)f  two  hemispherical  cartilaginous  cups ;  but  in  many  these 
are  bony,  and  in  some,  as  Cerntodus,  Xiphias,  et'' ,  they  are  united  to  form 
ovoid  or  cup-shaped  bony  shells,  which  hoh^  -nd  support  the  lens  and  have 
an  orifice  for  the  i)a8sage  of  the  optic  neve. 

In  many  fishes  the  crystalline  lens  has  a  peculiar  banded  structure, 
and  in  some — as  the  cod — the  bands  radiate  from  and  converge  to  oj)posite 
poles,  like  the  meridians  on  a  terrestrial  globe,  while  in  others — as  salmons 
and  sharks — they  converge  to  a  line  or  septum  instead  of  a  point  at  each 
pole.  The  figure  formed  by  the  intersection  of  the  radial  fibers  and  the 
septum  is  a  very  elegant  one,  and  precisely  that  which  is  found  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hemispherical  or  sen)i-elliptical  cnp  of  the  broader  end  of  the 
conical  bones  under  consideration.  In  Xiphias  and  Tetrapterus  the  eye  cap- 
sules are  ellij)tical  or  sub-globular  shells  of  bone,  which  inclose  all  the 
optical  apparatus.  Over  the  large  orifice  the  cornea  is  stretched  like  a  drum- 
head, while  below  is  a  smaller  opening  for  the  passage  of  the  optic  nerve. 
These  homj  shells  are  marked  at  each  end  of  the  ellipse  hi/  radiating  lines  much 
like  those  in  the  organs  which  I  have  considered  (he  eye  capsules  of  Dinichthys, 
and  this  structure  affords  additional  evidence  of  homology. 

Taking  all  these  facts  into  account,  I  think  we  may  assume  with  a  good 
degree  of  confidence  that  in  these  turbinated  bones  found  in  the  anterior 
portion  of  the  head  of  Dinichthys  we  have  the  osseous  capsules  which  sup- 
ported the  globes  of  the  eye. 

In  Owen's  Palaeontology,  second  edition,  page  144,  it  is  said  that  Mr, 
David  Page  found  in  the  tile-stone  of  Lanarkshire,  Scotland,  the  base  of  the 
Devonian  system,  a  Cephalaspis  which,  with  a  dorsal,  pectoral,  and  a  large 
heterocercal  caudal  fin,  "  had  ireU-murked  eye  capsules." 


PISHES  OP  THE  CARBONIPBRCUS  SYSTEM.  149 

D1NICHT11V8  MINOR,  Nevvb. 

Pluto  VIII,  Figs.  1-8. 

IHnichthys  minor,  Newb,;  Annals  N,  Y.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  1,  1879,  p.  191. 

Tlie  (lorsul  plate  of  this  species  is  about  eight  indies  long,  of  wliicli 
b'ttlo  more  tlian  half  is  occupied  by  the  dorsal  shield,  the  remainder  being 
made  uj)  by  the  long  and  slender  neck,  which  forms  the  extension  of  tiie  crest 
of  the  inferior  side.  The  plate  itself  is  shield-shaped,  termiiinting  anteri- 
orly in  an  acute  point,  posteriori}  in  an  obtuse  one.  The  sides,  irregularly 
rounded,  run  to  a  feather-edge,  which  was  probably  buried  in  the  integu- 
ment. The  superior  surface  is  marked  by  several  obtuse,  longitudinal  stria*, 
and  by  a  peculiar  transvarse,  crape-like  wrinkling.  Near  the  anterior  bor- 
der are  some  corrugations  which  look  like  places  of  muscular  or  cutaneous 
attachment,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  upper  .surface  is  more  that  of  a 
buried  than  a  supei-ficial  bone.  The  under  surface  is  uniformly  excavated 
and  arched  transversely  on  either  side  of  the  low  and  shai-p  central  crest. 
This  crest  is  prolonged  into  a  narrow,  neck-like  process,  which  projects 
backward  and  downward  from  the  posterior  margin  of  the  shield,  and  is 
excavated  in  a  broad  furrow  along  its  upper  surface. 

The  supra-occipital  bone,  which  seems  to  have  readily  disarticulated, 
is  two  and  one-fourth  inches  long  by  three  inches  wide,  rounded  behind, 
with  a  low  point  at  the  center  of  the  margin  ;  anterior  portion  wedge-shaped, 
truncated.  The  upper  surface  is  marked  l)y  several  broad  shallow  furrows, 
separated  by  low,  obtuse,  radiating  ridges,  the  whole  marked  with  the  charac- 
teristic crape-like  wrinkling.  The  under  surface  shows  a  backward  slope  with 
a  prominent  ridge,  which  forms  the  terminal  point.  Anterior  to  this  slope  is 
a  semi-elliptical  excavation  bordered  posteriorly  by  a  relatively  sharp  ridge, 
the  anterior  margin  of  the  slope  mentioned  above.  In  the  bottom  of  this 
excavation  are  two  shallow  pitj  '•  narated  by  a  low  ridge,  as  in  the  other 
species  of  DinicJdhys  and  the  allied  genera.  The  anterior  portion  of  the 
inferior  surface  slopes  rapidly  upward.  The  dentit' mi  is  not  certainly 
known,  but  nn  imperfect  jaw  found  with  the  specimens  cribed  above  and 
corresponding  in  size  is  some  four  inches  in  length,  and  consists  of  an  ex- 
posed and  a  buried  portion  as  in  D.  TcrreUi.     The  posterior  extremity  is 


I 


,,i..jiilliyui,,lBi.wi- 


I 


: 


\\ 


f 


150 


PALKOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


thin  and  relativoly  short  and  hroad  ;  the  anterior  portion,  composed  of  very 
dense  tissue,  is  thick,  pttlishod  without,  and  terminates  above  in  a  sharp  cut- 
ting edge ;  the  extremity  is  broken  away. 

The  outside  of  this  jaw  is  sliown  on  PI.  VIII,  Fig.  5.  It  will  bo  seen 
that  all  the  anterior  portion  is  gone,  and  it  is  only  interesting  as  showing  tlio 
peculiar  broad  and  short  outline  of  the  posterior  extremity.  Recently 
another  small  jaw  has  been  found  by  Mr.  Terrell,  which  is  represented  in 
Fig  G  of  the  same  plate.  This  apparently  belongs  to  the  same  species, 
though  to  a  somewhat  smaller  individual.  In  this  specimen  the  posterior 
extremity  is  wanting,  but  the  anterior  is  nearly  complete,  and  it  therefore 
supplements  the  one  before  mentioned.  In  the  figure  given  the  inside  of 
this  jaw  is  shown;  the  second  denticle  is  unfortunately  broken  away,  but 
its  position  is  plainly  shown  by  the  fracture  and  the  ridge  which  runs  up 
to  it.  These  prove  that  it  is  situated  at  an  unusual  distance  from  the 
anterior  point. 

In  Figs.  7,  8  are  given  views  of  a  premaxillary  of  a  small  species  of 
Dinichthi/s  which  is  quite  different  from  any  other  we  have  met  with.  In 
Fig.  8  it  is  seen  in  profile,  and  in  Fig.  7  from  above.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  it  is  flatter  and  more  obtuse  than  the  corresponding  organ  in  the  other 
species  of  Dimdtthys,  and  that  it  bears  a  row  of  tubercles  along  its  anterior 
angle ;  a  character  which  is  also  present  in  the  very  different  premaxillary 
of  DinichtUys  Hertzeri. 

DiNICHTHYS   GOULDII,   n.  Sp, 
Plate  IX,  Fig.  1 ;  Plate  X,  Figs.  1,  2. 

Fishes  of  relatively  small  size ;  cranium  about  twelve  inches  in  length 
and  breadth  ;  dorsomedian  plate  circular  or  transversel}'  elliptical  in  outline; 
external  surface  marked  by  concentric  lines  and  roughened  as  though  cov- 
ered by  integument;  inferior  crest  and  neck  relatively  thin  and  small; 
suprascapular  bones  trapezoidal  in  form,  five  inches  wide  by  three  inches 
long ;  mandibles  seven  to  eight  inches  long,  relatively  narrow ;  posterior 
and  buried  portion  spatulate,  l)lunt  pointed,  narrow,  and  thick ;  cutting  edge 
ong,  nearly  uniform  throughout,  bluntly  beveled ;  premaxillaries  triangular 
in  outline,  two  inches  broad  above,  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  vertical 


I'  I: 


mmmm^immT 


VmUEH  OF  THE  CAUlR>NlFKHOUa  SVSTHM. 


151 


height,  Hniooth,  and  relfitivoly  thin  ;  Huborbital  hono  Hix  and  a  half  inches 
lonj?,  liioadly  rounded  behind,  witli  n  deej)  HinuH  above  to  receive  the  eye; 
it  is  rehitively  tliin,  and  was  apparently  covered  by  inte<^ument ;  eye  very 
larpje,  orbit  elliptical,  one  and  a  half  by  one  and  a  (piarter  inclicH  in  diaiuetc.'r, 
mirrounded  by  four  thin,  anchylosed,  sclerotic  plates,  which  are  on  the  out- 
side «niooth  or  Hnely  granulated,  within  radiately  striate. 

This  species  was  discovered  by  Dr.  I).  T.  Oould  in  1880  in  the  valley 
of  Rocky  River,  below  Berea,  Ohio.  The  head,  dorsoniedian  and  supra- 
Hcaj)ular  plates,  a  suborbital  bone,  one  preniaxillary,  and  portions  of  two 
mandibles  were  found  together,  and  with  them  two  circles  of  sclerotic  plates, 
one  dislocated  the  other  entire,  by  which  the  orbits  were  surrounded. 
These  circles  were  foi-med  of  four  pieces  nearly  equal  in  size;  the  aperture 
of  the  eye  was  elliptical,  an  inch  and  a  half  long;  the  ring  of  circumorbital 
plates  was  somewhat  elliptical  in  outline  and  four  inches  in  its  longest 
diameter.  In  life  the  eye  must  have  had  somewhat  the  aspect  of  that  of 
Iclithyosaurm  and  was  relatively  as  large.  Whether  other  species  of  Dinich- 
thi/s  had  eyes  of  similar  construction  and  equal  size  can  not  yet  be  said,  but 
ihe  fonn  and  size  of  the  suborl)ital  plates  and  the  de))th  of  the  sinus  which 
received  the  ocular  apparaltis  indicate  large  eyes  in  all  the  ger.us,  but  rela- 
tively smaller  than  in  the  present  species.  To  maintain  the  same  propor- 
tions the  eyes  of  I).  TcrreUi  would  need  to  be  about  a  foot  in  diameter.  It 
seems  probable,  too,  that  B.  Gouldii  was  peculiar  in  Imving  ossitied  plates 
around  the  eye  orbit.  If  the  larger  species  of  the  genus  had  possessed  sim- 
ilar bony  plates  we  ought  long  since  to  have  become  familiar  with  them,  but 
none  have  been  found  ;  and  we  may  hence  infer  that  the  external  envelopes 
of  the  eye  were  cartilaginous.  This  species  has  been  dedicated  to  Dr.  D.  T. 
Gould,  the  discoverer. 

DiNICHTHYS   C0RRUGATU8,   n.  Sp. 
Plate  VII,  Figs.  3,  3». 

Of  this  species  we  have  only  the  anterior  half  of  a  mandible.  This 
mandible  was  originally  six  inches  long  but  all  the  flattened  spatulate  por- 
tion is  wanting.  That  part  which  has  been  preserved  is  the  thicker,  denser, 
and  more  exposed  anterior  end.     This  is  broken  along  the  upper  margin,  so 


mmmmm 


BJPMH 


152 


PALKOZOIC  FISHES  UF  NOIITH  AMKUICA. 


I 


i::  ; 


that  it  5m  inipoHSiblo  to  Hny  wlietlu»r  it  curried  denticleH  or  a  cutting  edge. 
Tlio  iintorior  oxtreuiity  foniit'd  an  iicuto  iiiitl  ixiliHlicd  tciotli,  hcarinj,''  a  cnrina 
along  its  autorior  l)ordcr;  bolow,  tho  niaiuliblo  \h  uniformly  arclifsd  and 
terminates  In  a  rather  sharp  edge ;  outside  it  is  peculiarly  corrugated  and 
roughened.  On  the  inside  it  shows  the  same  rough  bony  surface,  with  a 
furrow  parallel  to  tho  lower  margin.  Tho  jmsterior  extremity,  wliero'broken 
off,  is  quite  narrow  and  thick,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  fracture  was  just 
along  the  lino  between  the  exposed  and  covered  [)ortions.  No  evidence  is 
given  by  an  internal  ridge  of  tho  presence  of  a  second  ))oint  on  tho  upper 
margin,  but  a  small  denticle  may  have  existed  there  where  the  margin  is 
broken  away.  This  mandible  differs  from  all  others  known  to  mo  by  its 
narrowness,  the  roughness  of  the  surface,  and  tho  similarity  and  simi^licity 
of  the  inner  and  outer  surfaces. 

Formation  and  localthj :  Cleveland  shale ;  Black  River,  Lorain  County, 
Ohio.     Collected  by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell. 

DlNlCHTHYS    INTE  'MED1U8,  n.  Sp. 
Plate  X,  Figs.  1,  2;  Plato  XLVII,  Figs.  l-4»;  Plates  LI,  LII. 

Cranium  fifteen  inches  in  length  and  width  ;  mandibles  having  the  gen- 
eral forms  of  those  of  D.  TerreUi,  but  smaller — fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  in 
length ;  posterior  portion  of  cutting  edge  of  dentary  bone  set  with  com- 
pressed, lancet-shaped  denticles  ;  maxillaries  about  four  inches  long  by  two 
inches  wide,  strongly  arched  vei-tically,  and  like  the  dental  plates  of  the 
under  jaw  carrying  denticles  on  the  posterior  margin ;  premaxillaries  appar- 
ently similar  to  those  of  7).  TcrrelU,  but  much  smaller ;  suborbital  plates 
relatively  short,  the  expanded  portion  being  in  some  cases  nearly  square 
and  about  four  inches  long  and  broa(^  eyes  about  three  inches  in  diameter. 
The  dorsal  shield  and  supra-scapulas  are  rounder  in  outline  than  those  of 
D.  TerreUi  and,  like  the  other  parts  mentioned,  are  about  half  as  large.  Of 
the  })lastron  the  anterior  lateral  plate  is  shorter  and  relatively  broader  than 
in  the  larger  species,  tho  posterior  ventral  plate  oblong  in  outline,  about  as 
large  as  the  anterior  ])late,  but  thinner. 

Some  years  ago  a  mandible  of  Binichthys  of  medium  size  was  found  by 
Mr.  Jay  Terrell  in  Lorain  County,  Ohio,  which,  with  the  general  form  and 


I  m 


wfpw^ummppw^pp^piiiw 


FIShES  OF  TUK  t!AUIn)NII.M<:R()rH  HYHTKM. 


153 


proportions  of  tlmt  of  the  larger  Hi)oci(>H,  luul  this  pooiilinrity,  tlmt  tl.o  pos- 
terior end  of  tho  cutting  edge  carriod  dontich-H.  At  fiist  hight  tlioHo  roHon.ble 
thoMo  on  tlio  niandihleH  of  1).  Jfntzai,  but  wl.en  oxununed  th(»y  are  Been  to 
1.0  compressed  and  to  be  only  strong  serrations,  M'liich  could  have  bad  little 
functional  importance.  This  (character  seems  t(.  bo  an  iidieritanco  from  tlio 
older  species  of  tbo  genus,  J).  Jfrrfzrri,  in  wliicb  both  the  mandibles  and 
niaxillarios  are  sot  with  conical  pointed  teeth,  and  thus  it  is  a  kind  of  con- 
necting link  between  tiiat  form  of  dentition  and  the  cutting  edges  of  the 
mandibles  and  maxillaries  of  R  Terrdll,  etc. 

It  is  not  true,  however,  that  all  the  earlier  species  of  Dinichtlii/s  had 
pointed  teeth  on  the  mandibles  and  maxillaries  and  all  the  later  ones  cut- 
tinr  edges,  for  Prof  J.  M.  Clarke  has  described  in  the  Unlletin  of  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey,  No.  IC,  page  1 7,  the  mandibles  and  maxillaries  of  a  species 
of  Bhikhthys  which  he  calls  D.  Xewhcmji.  They  are  about  the  size  of 
those  of  I),  intcnncdius,  and  have  cutting  edges  precisely  as  in  J).  Tcrrelli. 
These  specimens  were  found  in  the  Hamilton  shales  of  western  New  York, 
the  geological  equivalents  of  the  Huron  shale  of  Ohio  Hence  I).  Ilertzcri 
and  1).  Neivhernji  were  contemi)oraries,  and  the  two  styles  of  dentition  wore 
in  use  at  the  same  time.  The  dentition  of  I),  intermedins  does  not  therefore 
represent  a  phase  of  progressive  transition  from  one  form  to  the  other,  char- 
acteristic of  an  intermediate  period,  but  is  rather  a  kind  of  hybrid  between 
the  two  older  forms. 

After  the  discovery  of  tiie  first  mandible  with  the  characters  mentione  ' 
above  a  nundjor  of  others  were  obtained,  all  of  about  the  same  size  and 
having  the  compressed  denticles  at  the  back  end  of  the  cutting  edge.  I 
have  therefore  been  led  to  accept  the  suggestion  first  mado  by  Mr.  Terrell, 
that  these  represent  a  distinct  species,  and  I  have  given  it  a  name  indicative 
of  the  intermediate  position  it  holds  between  the  larger  and  smaller  forms  of 
Dinkhthys  found  in  the  Cleveland  shale  and  also  in  the  denticulation  of  the 
mandibles  between  them  and  I).  Ilertzcti  of  the  Huron  shale.  It  should 
also  be  mentioned  as  confirmatory  of  this  view  that  these  smaller  mandibles 
are  as  much  worn  by  use  as  any  of  the  larger  ones ;  from  which  we  mivy 
infer  that  they  belonged  to  mature  individuals.  I  may  add  that  in  the 
Clevelan  ^  shale  at  Brooklyn,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio,  while  the  remains 


154 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


i 


of  this  species  are  somewhat  abundant,  scarce  any  traces  of  D.  Terrelli  have 
been  discovered. 

Mr.  Terrell  has  obtained  from  Lorain  Comity,  Ohio,  several  crania, 
dorsomedian  and  supra-scapular  plates  of  intermediate  and  small  sizes  which 
may  have  belonged  to  the  species  under  consideration.  Among  these  is  a 
pair  of  supra-scapulas  about  half  the  size  of  those  of  D.  TerrcUi  and  with 
much  rounder  outlines.  The  dorsal  plates  have  little  to  distinguish  them 
fiom  those  of  D.  TerrelU  except  their  smaller  size.  Some  of  these  bear 
marks  of  the  teeth  of  the  larger  species ;  by  which  it  is  made  evident  that 
the  smaller  ones  were  often  attacked  by  them,  and  in  one  specimen  we 
have  proof  that  such  attacks  sometimes  proved  fatal  The  specimen  referred 
to  is  a  dorsal  plate  that,  with  the  ))osterior  process,  must  have  been  originally 
about  iifteen  inches  in  length,  of  which  the  wings  are  crushed  quite  together, 
as  though  by  violence,  and  still  bear  deep  pits  and  furrows,  evidently  mav^o 
by  the  "mandibles"  and  "j)remaxillaries"  of  D.  Terrelli,  between  whicli  it 
was  St. zed  and  crushed.  In  this  specimen  we  have  evidence  that  the  gape 
of  the  mouth  in  I).  Terrelli  was  wide  enough  to  embr?  tre  a  body  a  foot  or 
more  in  diameter,  and  that  the  jaws  were  moved  by  nuisdes  of  such  power 
as  to  deeply  indent  and  even  crush  the  armor  of  the  smaller  species  of  the 


genus. 


Since  the  above  notes  were  written  Dr.  William  Clark  has  obtained 
from  the  Cleveland  shale  in  the  valley  of  the  Cuyahoga  a  large  number  of 
bones  and  plates  of  Diniclithyd  which  we  may  confidently  refer  to  this 
species.  Of  these  several  are  figured  on  Pis.  XLVII,  LI,  and  LII.  They 
include  crania  of  which  nearly  complete  specimens  are  figured  on  Pis.  LI 
and  LII,  the  first  tlse  outside  showing  the  suborbital  plates  in  position ; 
second  the  inside  with  the  supra  scapulas  attached  to  the  skull.  Tiie  sub- 
;>rbital  bones,  though  relatively  and  absolutely  nuich  shorter,  are  apparently 
the  homologues  of  the  plates  which  I  have  figured  .ind  described  in  the 
Palivontology  of  Ohio  as  the  posterio'-  pair  of  the  plastron.  One  of  these, 
which  i  have  with  some  doubt  referred  to  1).  iiiteitnedius,  is  represented  in 
views  of  the  outside  and  inside  on  P'..  XLVII,  Figs.  1,1*.  These  and  many 
others  .tie  in  the  collection  recently  purchased  of  Dr.  Clark,  all  of  whicli 
are  relatively  longei   than  this.     1  was  therefore  at  first  inclined  to  regard 


FISHES  OF  THE  OARBONIFEItOUS  SYSTEM. 


155 


it  aa  representing  tlie  species,  to  which  I  had  given  the  name  of  i),  curtus, 
bill  am  rather  inclined  to  the  opinion  tliat  it  in  only  a  variety  of  7).  intermedins. 

Ah  nientioned  in  the  general  discnssion  of  the  relations  of  the  genus, 
this  plato  corresponds  ao  closely  in  form  and  markings  witli  the  so-called 
suhorbitid  of  Coccosteus  that  they  must  be  homologous,  and  Dr.  H.  II.  Tra- 
([uair,  in  liis  jiaper  on  the  relations  of  Ilomostctis  and  Coccosteus,  in  the  Geo- 
logical Magazine  for  January,  188!),  advances  the  view  that  they  are  really 
the  maxillaries.  Should  that  prove  true,  wo  siiall  be  compelled  to  consider 
the  dental  plates  with  cutting  edges  (PI.  XLVII,  Figs.  3,  4,  4")  as  modified 
teeth. 

On  PI.  LI,  Figs.  2,  3,  I  have  given  ))l;otographic  views,  hnlf  size,  of 
the  inside  and  outside  of  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  cranium  ofi)  ititer- 
medins.  These  show  distinctly  the  nasal  plate,  behind  this  the  (ithmoid,  and 
on  the  sides  the  jjreorbitals.  In  Fig.  3  is  represented  the  under  side  of  the 
ethmoid  with  the  i)ineal  fontanelle,  with  the  minute  foramen  which  pierces  the 
skull.  On  the  left  side  of  Fig.  3  is  seen  the  roof  of  the  eye  orbit,  and  part 
of  its  up|)er  margin  complete.  The  suborbital  plates  in  this  specimen  should 
l)e  brought  forward  so  as  to  form  with  the  preorbital  and  postorl)ital  plates 
a  nearly  circular  orbit,  which  was  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  This 
indicates  a  large  eye,  yet  not  as  large  as  that  of  /).  Goiddii,  although  that 
was  a  smaller  species.  No  traces  of  sclerotic  plates  have  yet  been  found  in 
cop.nection  with  the  head  bones  of  D.  intermedins,  thonj;  this  is  not  proof 
that  they  did  not  exist.  Attached  as  they  were  to  the  eye,  a  movable  and 
l)erislu,ble  organ,  they  would-be  very  likely  to  be  scattered,  and  if  thin  and 
delicate,  destroyed. 

In  this  connection  I  would  call  attention,  as  I  have  elsowhere  omitted 
to  do,  to  the  resemblance  of  the  ring  of  sclerotic  j)lates  of  Acanthodes  to 
those  of  Dinichfhifs  iind  Coccosteus.  Dr.  Ferd.  Roejn(n-  has  gi\en  a  beautiful 
figure  of  the  sclerotic  plates  of  Acanthodes  in  the  Zeitschrift  der  deutsch. 
geol.  Gesellschaft,  vol.  9  (1857),  page  61,  pi.  3,  and  he  has  shown  that  it 
consists  of  four  pieces,  as  in  Dinichthys  Gouldii  and  Trachostcus  Clarkii.  In 
A.  von  Koeneti's  figures  of  the  sclerotic    ing  of  Coccostcm^  it  appears  to  be 

'Ueitrag  ziir  Kcniitiiiss  dor  I'hu'.oilerinoii,  Abliandluiigen  der  kouiglioheu  Gesellschaft  <ler  Wi». 
BOnsohafteu zu  Uottiaguu,  vol.30  (Ids:!),  pi.  1,  figs.  1,8. 


166 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMEKICA. 


entire,  but  that  is  perhaps  due  to  the  removal  of  the  plates,  which  left  an 
imperfect  impression  upon  the  internal  cast. 

DiNICHTHYS   CUETUS,  n.  Sp. 
Plate  XLVIII,  Fig.  3;  Plate  LIII,  Figs.  1-3. 

Fishes  of  moderate  or  small  size ;  head  a  nearly  equilateral  triangle, 
measiu-ing  about  one  foot  on  a  side ;  cranium,  maxillary,  and  mandible 
similar  in  character  to  those  of  Dinichthys  inter medius,  but  only  half  to  two- 
thirds  as  large,  and  the  mandible  bears  two  subordinate  prominences  back 
of  the  turned  up  tooth-like  extremity ;  also  the  posterior  end  of  the  cutting 
edge  is  set  with  two  or  three  unequal  denticles  in  place  of  the  series  of  even, 
lancet-like  points  in  the  same  position  on  the  mandible  of  D.  intermedius. 
The  anterior  ventro-lateral  plate  is  scimiter-shaped,  eight  inches  long  by  two 
and  a  half  inches  wide,  being  relatively  narrower  than  the  corresponding 
bone  in  any  other  species  known. 

A  series  of  specimens  recently  sent  to  me  by  Prof.  William  Kepler 
throw  new  light  upon  the  structure  of  this  species  and  make  it  necessary 
to  add  a  few  paragraphs  to  the  description  already  given.  These  were 
obtained  from  the  Cleveland  shale  at  the  locality  in  the  suburbs  of  Cleve- 
land from  which  so  many  fine  things  have  been  ))rocured  by  Dr.  Clark  and 
Professor  Kepler — a  locality  called  in  my  notes  Linnville,  Brooklyn,  and 
Cleveland.  They  consist  of  the  greater  part  of  the  bony  structure  of  what 
was  probably  a  nearly  mature  individual.  The  parts  are  somewhat  dis- 
placed, but  the  entire  cranium  with  the  suborbital  plates  on  either  side,  and 
the  supra-scapulas  articulated  to  the  posterior  angles,  may  all  be  identified. 
One  maadible  and  one  ventral  plate  similar  to  the  narrow  one  figured  on 
PI.  XLVIII,  Fig.  3,  are  also  present;  and  most  interesting  of  all  are  the  dis- 
connected and  scattered,  but  still  easily  recognizable  sclerotic  plates.  It  was 
not  before  known  that  the  eye  in  this  species  of  Dinichthis  was  surrounded 
by  a  series  of  bony  plates,  though  they  had  been  found  in  connection  with 
the  head  bones  of  D  Gouldii.  In  the  present  species  they  are  trapezoidal 
in  form,  of  about  the  sanie  width  as  in  D.  Ootddii,  but  only  half  as  long; 
from  which  we  may  infer  that  more  than  four  were  needed  to  form  the  ring 
around  the  visual  aperture,  or  that  the  eye  was  much  smaller.     On  the  in- 


FISHES  OF  THE  OARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


157 


side  they  are  more  or  less  radiately  striate  and  marked  with  the  furrows  of 
the  nutrient  vessels;  the  outside  is  granular  like  the  exterior  surfaces  of 
most  of  the  bones  of  Dinichthys. 

The  dimensions  of  the  cranium  and  appendages  in  this  specimen  of 
D.  curtiis  are  as  follows :  Length  of  cranium  from  occiput  to  nasal  extremity 
ten  inches;  breadth  between  articulations  with  supra-scapulas,  eight  inches; 
breadth  between  posterior  angles  of  the  head,  twelve  inches;  mandibles  nine 
inches  long  by  two  and  a  half  inches  wide;  suborbital  ]jlates  seven  inches 
long;  posterior  and  flattened  portion  tliree  and  a  half  by  four  inches; 
supra-scapulas,  relatively  broader  than  any  other  species  known,  three  and 
a  half  by  six  and  a  half  inches  in  area.  The  mandibles  have  the  general 
form  of  those  of  B.  TerreUi  and  are  much  broader  and  more  massive  than 
those  of  B.  Gouldii.  Back  of  the  cutting  edge  the  margin  is  set  with  two 
or  three  denticles  of  uneqtial  size  and  just  behind  the  anterior  upturned 
point  are  two  ti'iangular  prominences  where  most  species  of  the  genus  have 
but  a  single  one 

The  figures  on  PI.  LIII  represent  a  mandible,  a  supra-scapula,  and  a 
sclerotic  plate,  all  of  natural  size. 


GLYPTASPIS,  nov.  gen. 

Placoderm  fishes  of  l.uge  size  belonging  to  the  family  Pterichthidse. 
The  body  was  protected  by  numeious  thick,  bony  plates,  of  wliich  those  of 
the  plastron  were  probably  five  in  number,  as  in  Ptcrichtliys,  Coccosteus,  and 
Binichthys.  The  middle  one  is  lance-shaped  or  subrhomboidal,  its  central 
portion  tuberculated,  its  margins  sloped  off  and  smoothed  or  striated  by  the 
overlap  of  the  lateral  ventral  plates.  The  upper  part  of  the  body  carried  a 
number  of  lanceolate  or  ellipsoidal  plates,  of  which  the  central  parts  are 
ornamented,  the  margins  smooth  and  sloped  down  to  thin  edges.  From  the 
absence  of  marks  of  co-adaptation  it  seems  probable  that  these  plates  did  not 
overlap  to  form  a  carapace,  but  were  set  in  the  skin  like  the  scutes  of 
the  sturgeons.     The  head  plates  and  dentition  are  unknown. 

More  material  is  wanted  to  give  a  satisfactory  definition  of  the  structure 
and  relations  of  this  genus,  but  the  plates  of  the  single  species  known  are 
so  striking  in  appearance,  through  their  strong  and  characteristic  ornamen- 


im  i 


158 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOKTB  AMERICA. 


tation,  that  they  will  be  easily  recognized  wherever  seen.  Doubtless  the 
head  with  its  jaws  and  teeth  will  soon  be  found  by  its  indefatigable  discov- 
erer, and  it  will  then  be  possible  to  give  a  more  complete  description  of  it. 
Among  the  other  fisli  remains  associated  with  the  plates  of  Glyptaspis  in  the 
Cleveland  shale  are  two,  of  which  the  jaws  and  teeth  are  the  only  parts  yet 
known,  viz,  Diplognafhus  and  Mylostoma,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
plates  of  Glyptaspis  will  be  found  in  such  relation  with  one  or  the  other 
that  we  may  be  sure  they  once  belonged  together.  This  is  not  certain, 
however,  as  there  are  indications  from  fragments  found  that  the  fish  fauna 
of  the  basin  in  which  the  Cleveland  shale  was  deposited  contained  other 
genera  and  species  than  those  already  described. 

GliVPTASPIS   VERRUCOSUS,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XIII,  Figs.  1,  2. 

Ventromedian  plate  broad-lanceolate,  acute  at  one  end,  obtuse  at  the 
other,  fifteen  inches  long  by  seven  broad  ;  central  portion  of  outer  surface 
forming  a  halbert-shaped  figure  coarsely  tuberculated  or  ridged  by  lines  of 
confluent  tubercles,  margins  beveled  to  an  edge,  forming  a  band  an  inch 
or  more  in  breadth  on  every  side  ;  this  slope  is  smooth  or  striated,  evidently 
by  the  overlap  of  other  plates,  of  which  jjrobably  four  sunounded  the 
central  one.  The  median  plate,  like  others  forming  the  armor,  is  from  a 
quarter  to  half  an  inch  thick,  of  dense  bony  tissue,  the  tuberculated  portion 
being  covei'ed  with  a  sheet  of  enamel. 

A  number  of  plates  or  pieces  of  plates  ornamented  like  the  ventro- 
median,  and  therefore  from  fishes  o<  the  same  species,  have  been  found  by 
Mr.  Terrell  in  the  Cleveland  shale ;  the  first  fragment  many  years  ago. 
They  are  generally  broken  and  sometimes  bear  marks  ot"  the  great  teeth  of 
Dinichthjs  Terrdli,  evidently  the  t}-rant  and  terror  of  the  bay  or  gulf  in 
which  the  Cleveland  shale  was  deposited. 

When  entiro  these  plates  must  ha  /e  been  long-elliptical  in  outfine  and 
unsymmetrical ;  iherefoie  are  not  from  the  median  line  of  the  back.  The 
central  portion  of  the  outer  surface  carries  the  strong  and  peculiar  orna- 
mentation of  the  ventromedian  plate,  but  this  is  surrounded  by  a  sloping 
margin  an  inch  in  width  which  reaches  to  an  acute  edge.     This  margin  is 


H  -i 


Hi 


-wmmm^mw 


FISHES  OF  TEE  CAH130NIFEI10US  SYSTEM. 


159 


so  smooth,  the  edge  so  sharp  and  even,  that  it  seems  liardly  possible  that 
the  plates  could  have  been  in  contact  with  each  other,  but  they  were  proba- 
bly set  in  the  skin  like  the  scutes  of  the  sturgeons. 

None  of  these  plates  have  yet  been  found  quite  entire,  but  some  of 
them  must  have  been  eighteen  inches  in  length  by  six  incbes  in  widdi ; 
one  end  was  acute,  the  other  truncated,  as  though  they  had  been  set  in  rows 
touching  and  slightly  overlapping  at  the  ends. 

Genus  DIPLOGNATIIUS,  Newb. 

Bones  of  cranium  and  body  unknown  ;  dentary  bones  long  and  slender, 
flattened,  straight,  spatulate  behind,  where  originally  covered  with  cartilage; 
anterior  and  exposed  portions  rising  into  points  which  diverge  from  the 
symphysis,  giving  a  forked  extremity  to  the  lower  jaw ;  conical,  acute  teeth 
formed  from  the  jaw  tissue  are  set  along  the  outer  margin  of  the  mandibles 
and  on  the  inside  of  the  divergent  extremities  beyond  the  symphysis.  A 
deep  pit  in  each  dentary  bone  marks  the  point  of  insertion  of  a  powerful 
ligament,  which  bound  the  rami  together  and  prevented  splitting. 

The  remarkable  structure  of  the  jaws  on  which  the  foregoing  descrip- 
tion is  based  is,  so  far  as  known,  without  parallel  in  the  animal  kingdom. 
The  dentary  bones  are  produced  forward  into  triangular,  divergent  points, 
of  which  the  inner  margins  are  set  with  sharp,  recurved  teeth.  This  forn)ed 
a  kind  of  forked  rake,  which  must  have  been  a  very  effective  instrument  for 
catching  slender,  slippery  fishes  or  annelids,  and  was  doubtless  used  for 
that  purpose. 

One  pair  of  mandibles  and  the  anterior  half  of  another  are  all  the  relics 
yet  obtained  of  this  fish.     These  are  described  and  figured  in  this  memoir. 

DiPLoaNATHUs  MiRABiLis,  Newb. 

Plate  Xr,  Figs.  1-4;  Plate  XII,  Figs.  1-3. 

Diplognathtis  mirabilis,  N.;  Aunals  N.  Y.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  1,  1878,  p.  188. 

Dentary  bone  attaining  a  length  of  eighteen  inches  by  a  width  of  two 
inches  in  the  widest  part ;  anterior  half  thickened  as  in  Dinichthys,  gently 
rising  into  an  acute  point  anteriorly,  which  diverges  from  its  fellow  of  the 


160 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOKTU  AMERICA. 


oiiposite  dentary  bono  to  form  a  forked  extremity  to  tlie  rmder  jaw ;  upper 
margin  of  the  anterior  half  of  the  dentary  bono  set  with  strong,  conical, 
acute,  incurved  teeth,  about  fourteen  in  number,  which  diminish  in  size  as 
they  ascend  the  elevated  point ;  five  or  six  conical,  recurved  teeth  are  set 
on  the  inner  side  of  the  triangular  extremity  of  the  •mandible,  Muv  the 
space  between  the  point  and  the  symi[)liysi8;  a  broad,  roughened  depression 
or  pit  at  the  symphysis  marks  the  jdace  of  attachment  of  a  strong  ligiiment 
which  united  the  mandibles ;  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  dentary  bone  is 
flattened,  spatulate,  and  straight. 

The  above  description  was  based  on  the  anterior  half  of  a  dentary  bone 
found  in  1877  by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell  in  the  Cleveland  shale  in  Lorain  County, 
Ohio.  After  diat  time  no  traces  of  this  remarkable  fish  had  been  met  Avith 
until  1886,  when  Mr.  Terrell  obtained,  in  the  same  formation  and  in  neigh- 
boring localities,  two  complete  dentary  bones,  right  and  left,  of  nearly  the 
same  size.  These  are  twelve  inches  long,  but  differ  slightly  in  proportions, 
and  evidently  were  derived  from  two  individuals.  No  other  portion  of  the 
bony  structure  of  Diplognathus  has  been  obtained,  unless  it  shall  prove  that 
these  jaws  belonged  with  the  plates  described  elsewhere  in  this  memoir  and 
called  Glyptaspis.  But  few  of  these  plates  have  yet  been  found,  and  it  is 
evident  that,  like  Diplognathus,  Glyptaspis  was  a  rare  fish  in  the  water  basin 
in  which  the  Cleveland  shale  was  deposited. 

Althou-hso  anomalous  in  their  structure,  it  is  apparent  that  the  jaws 
described  above  belonged  to  a  fish  that  was  a  member  of  the  family  of  the 
Dinichthida),  since  in  many  respects  they  resemble  the  jaws  of  the  different 
sj)ecies  of  Diniclithys,  Titanichthys,  and  Trnchostcus,  i.  e.,  they  are  alike  in 
having  the  posterior  extremity  flattened  and  spatulate,  evidently  once  en- 
tirely buried  in  integument,  while  the  anterior  and  exposed  half  is  more 
massive,  is  ."omposed  of  denser  tissue,  and  rises  to  a  pointed  extremity  some- 
what in  the  style  of  a  sled-runner.  In  Dinichthys  the  anterior  extremities 
of  the  mandibles  were  much  more  abruptly  curved  upward,  and  served 
siniply  as  powerful,  penetrating  and  grasping  teeth.  As  in  Diphgnatlms  the 
extremities  were  divergent,  but  were  not  provided  with  teeth  on  the  inside. 

Much  remains  to  be  learned  in  reg-ard  to  the  armor  of  Glyptasjm,  since 
only  a  small  number  of  the  plates  composing  it  have  been  discovered,  but 


if 
I' I 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAEBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


161 


these  prove  that  it  was  allied  to  Dinkhthijs,  and  there  is  nothing  improbable 
in  the  supposition  that  the  jaws  which  belonged  to  this  fish  were  similar  to 
those  I  have  described  under  the  name  of  Diplofjuatlms.  In  time  this  problem 
will  doubtless  be  solved  by  the  discovery  of  jaws  associated  with  the  armor 
of  Glijptaspis  or  plate  armoi-  with  Diphgnathus. 

The  mandibles  of  Tmchosteus,  so  far  as  shown  in  the  only  specimens 
known,  are  strikingly  similar  to  those  of  Diplognathus,  and  as  in  these  speci- 
mens the  anterior  extremity  is  wanting,  I  at  one  time  had  a  suspicion  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  unite  these  two  genera,  but  on  comparing  their 
mandibles  it  was  found  that  there  were  marked  differences,  which  proved 
that  they  could  not  be  united.  Hence  we  are  compelled  to  say  that  the 
jaws  of  Diplognathus  cannot  be  associated  with  the  remains  of  any  other  fish 
found  in  the  Cleveland  shale  unless  it  be  Glyptaspis. 


Genus  MYLOSTOMA,  Newb. 

Dipterine  Ganoids  of  large  size,  of  which  as  yet  only  the  dentition  is 
certainly  known ;  the  teeth  or  dental  plates  consist  of  strong  and  massive 
tables  of  bony  tissue,  becoming  more  dense  and  enamel-like  toward  the 
triturating  surfiice.  They  apparently  formed  several  pairs  on  both  the  upper 
and  lower  jaws.  The  principal  plates  of  the  lower  jaw  had  long-oval  or 
spatulate  crowns  three  to  six  inches  in  length  by  one  to  two  inches  wide 
and  half  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  supported  by  strong,  vertical,  spatu- 
late bones,  which  projected  downward  and  backward,  terminating  posteriorly 
in  thin,  rounded  margins.  The  upper  surface  of  the  crown  is  raised  into  a 
more  or  less  prominent  tubercle  which  is  situated  near  the  exterior  margin 
and  slightly  anterior  to  the  middle.  Another  pair  of  teeth  apparently  be- 
longing to  the  lower  jaw  are  triangular  in  outline,  with  one  straight  and 
shorter  side,  where  they  join  and  an  exterior  arched  and  longer  side.  In  the 
posterior  end  of  each  is  a  deep  notch,  apparently  for  the  reception  of  the 
blunt-pointed  anterior  end  of  one  of  the  larger  dental  plates  described  above. 
The  surfaces  of  these  triangular  teeth  are  cor. vex.  Possibly  other  teeth 
were  associated  with  these  to  form  the  pavement  of  the  under  jaw,  but  that 
is  not  yet  demonstrated. 

MON  XVI 11 


:|1 


162 


PALEOZOIC  FISUBS  OF  NOBTU  AMKUICA. 


I 


The  dental  plates  of  the  iipjjor  jaw  are  tabular  and  consist  of  very  dense 
tissue ;  they  probabl}'  formed  several  pairs  on  opposite  sides  of  the  median 
line;  the  larfj^est  is  somewhat  triaiif^ular  in  outline,  with  a  concave  tritu- 
ratinjj  surface  and  vertical  sides,  apparently  for  co-aduptation  to  other  teeth 
of  the  set.  Others  of  these  palate  teeth  are  shorter  and  broader,  with  one 
margin  concave,  apparently  for  fitting'  the  vouiuled  jjosterior  end  of  the  larger 
teeth  just  described.  The  bases  of  these  teeth  or  dental  plates  are  flat,  and 
they  were  apparently  attached  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 

It  is  probable  that  we  have  not  yet  obtained  all  the  elements  in  the 
dentition  of  this  fish,  and  the  parts  yet  discovered  are  so  peculiar  and  anoma- 
lous as  to  make  it  difficult  to  co-ordinate  them  satisfactorily  with  any  others 
hitherto  known.  The  flattened  tabular  dental  j)]ates  which  I  have  supposed 
formed  the  roof  of  the  mouth  have  a  general  resemblance  in  form  and  text- 
ure to  those  of  Chlmaru,  and  it  is  evident  are  their  analogues  and  function- 
ally their  rej)resentative8 ;  still  the  teeth  of  the  under  jaw  found  with  these, 
and  exhibiting  the  same  nncroscopic  structm-e,  difl'er  widely  from  any  por- 
tion of  the  dentition  of  Chima-roid  fishes  and  show  a  greater  resemblance  to 
the  dental  plates  of  the  Dipterine  Ganoids.  They  evidently  formed  pairs, 
for  we  have  the  corresponding  teeth  of  the  right  and  left  sides,  and  though 
wanting  the  radiating  ridges  of  the  teeth  of  Ctenodonts,  they  seem  to  have 
occupied  corresponding  positions.  The  strong  vertical  supports  on  which 
they  are  mounted  correspond  with  the  splenial  bones  that  carry  the  inferior 
dental  plates  of  Ctenodus,  except  that  they  are  flattened  vertically  instead 
of  horizontally,  and  probably  represeiit  more  of  the  mandible. 

The  resemblance  of  the  teeth  which  I  have  supposed  formed  the  roof 
of  the  mouth  to  those  of  Ceratodus  will  strike  any  one  who  examines  them, 
and  no  closer  analogy  suggests  itself  in  the  whole  range  of  ichthyic  denti- 
tion. There  is,  however,  this  mark&d  difference,  that  while  in  Ceratodus 
there  is  only  one  pair  of  dentary  plates  borne  on  the  palato-pterygoid 
bones,  in  Mylostoma  there  were  certainly  several  pairs  of  pavement  teeth  in 
the  roof  of  the  mouth.  The  spatulate  bones  which  form  the  supports  of 
the  principal  dental  plates  of  the  lower  jaw  evidently  represent  the  thin, 
flattened,  smooth,  and  once  buried  posterior  end  of  the  dentary  bone  in  all 
of  the  Dinichthidse  ;  and,  taken  by  itself,  each  of  these  dental  plates  with  its 


;i 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONlFEIiOUS  SYSTEM. 


163 


support  may  be  rcfjarded  as  tl.e  dei.tary  bone  of  tl.e  mundible.  But  the 
maifTUKs  of  these  triturating  phites  are  smoothed  vertically  or  beveled  in 
such  a  way  as  to  indicate  co-adaptation  to  other  plates.  We  have  seen  that 
one  pan-,  described  above,  probably  fitted  on  to  the  anterior  extremities  of 
these  larger  plates,  and  there  may  have  been  others  at  the  sides  or  behind 
Such  a  division  of  the  dentary  bone  into  distinct  parts  is  not  altogether 
without  precedent,  for  in  Bendmlus  and  Ilhizodus  the  dontary  bones  are 
segmented,  each  piece  carrying  one  or  more  of  the  great,  conical,  socketed 
teeth  which  constitute  the  forniidablo  dentition  of  these  fishes. 

The  modifications  of  structure  in  the  months  of  fishes  recent  and  ex- 
tinct to  give  support  to  pavement  or  crushing  teeth  are  very  varied,  as  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  dentition  of  the  rycnodonts  among  fossil  fisiies 
and  to  the  drum,  sheepshead,  etc,  of  our  living  fauna.     Among  Elasmo- 
branch.  the  Cestracionts  and  Rays  present  an  almost  infinite  variety  in  the 
form  and  arrangement  of  the  teeth  adapted  to  crushing  mollusks  and  crnsta- 
ceans.     But  if  we  are  correct  in  considering  Myhstoma  as  u  member  of  the 
family  of  the  Dinichthida>,  we  have  in  it  an  example  of  extreme  specialization 
ni  another  dn-ection,  but  no  less  marked  and  surprising  than  in  Dimchthys 
und  I),i>h>!jmthus.     In  a  former  notice  of  this  genus  I  have  compared  its 
dentition  with  that  oi  Dipterus,  Palcdaphus,  Ctenodus,  and  Ceratodus,  and  the 
points  of  resemblance  are  sufficient  to  justify  the  inference  that  they  were 
all  related. 

In  regard  to  the  cranium  and  external  defenses  of  the  body  in  Myhstoma 
we  are  yet  in  ignorance,  although  the  number  of  dental  plates  collected  by 
Mr.  1  errell  js  already  considerable.     I  have  elsewhere  described  a  portion 
of  the  body  ,)Iates  of  a  large  Placoderm,  Glyptcispis,  found  in  the  Cleveland 
shale,  with  which  no  jaws  and  teeth  have  yet  been  connected,  and  have 
suggested  that  either  the  jaws  of  mplogmthus  or  the  teeth  of  Myhstoma 
might  have  belonged  to  this  fish.     It  is  hardly  probable  that,  while  living 
m  a  community  so  generally  armor-clad  as  the  Diniclithida3  were,  and  with 
reason,  that  either  Myhstoma  or  Diphgnatlms  was  without  some  protection 
of  this  kmd ;  and  though  neilher  of  these  genera  could  have  contended  suc- 
cessfully with  the  formidable  armament  of  Dinichthys  Terrelli,  they  would 
have  been  less  entirely  at  his  mercy  if  the  vital  portions  of  the  body  were 


164 


PALEOZOIC  FISIIKS  OK  NORTH  AMKUIOA. 


shielded  by  bony  pliitCB.  Wo  can  im!ij>iiie  tliiit  JJiplofjnatltu.s,  if  Hwift  in  its 
uioveuients,  might  have  found  parts  of  tlio  body  of  l)inkhthifs  that  were 
penetrable  by  the  j)ointH  of  its  mandibles,  but  Myhstoma  was  provided  with 
no  means  of  oft'ense,  and,  unless  armor-clad,  would  have  had  no  safety  but  in 
flight. 

The  plates  of  Glyptaspis  which  we  have  found  are  often  broken  as 
though  by  violence,  even  where  composed  of  dense,  bony  tissue  half  an 
inch  or  more  in  thickness,  and  the  surfaces  of  the  plates,  at  least  in  one  case 
which  has  come  under  my  observation,  show  deep  furrows,  tluit  have  been 
traced  by  the  points  of  the  premaxillaries  or  mandibles  of  Dinkhthys. 


'    I. 


Mylostom^.  Tekkelli,  Newb. 

Plate  XIV,  Figs.  1, 2. 

Mylostoma  Terrelli,  N.;  Trans.  N.  Y.  Ac         -tci.,  vol.  2,  1883,  p.  147. 

Principal  inferior  dental  plates  in  pairs,  each  of  which  is  spatulate  in 
outline,  with  one  margin  nearly  straight  where  it  joined  its  fellow,  the  other 
strongly  arched ;  length  six  to  seven  inches  by  two  inches  in  greatest 
breadth;  crown  composed  of  dense,  enamel-like  tissue  eight  lines  in  thick- 
ness at  the  front  and  gradually  thinnin  gtoward  the  narrow  posterior  end ; 
triturating  surface  punctate  or  vermicularly  roughened,  slightly  arched  from 
front  to  rear,  and  rising  into  a  low  rounded  boss  near  the  external  margin, 
where  the  tooth  is  broadest,  and  about  one-third  the  length  of  the  crown 
from  its  anterior  extremity.  The  crown  is  supported  below  by  a  strong, 
bony  keel,  which  begins  at  the  anterior  fourth  of  the  length  and  gradually 
descends  backward  until  it  has  a  width  of  two  and  a  half  inches,  terminat- 
ing in  a  thin  irregular  margin  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  from  the  anterior 
extremity  of  the  crown. 

Of  this  large  species  only  a  single  specimen  has  yet  been  discovered. 
This  includes  the  crown  complete  with  a  part  of  the  splenial  (I)  bone  on 
which  it  was  supported.  The  entire  dentary  bone  must  have  been  fifteen 
to  eighteen  iiiche..   n  length. 

This  specimen  is  figured  on  PI  XIV,  views  of  both  the  side  and  crown 
surfaces  being  given. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEltOUS  SYSTEM. 


165 


Formation  and  locality :  Cleveland  Blinle ;  viilloy  of  Vermilion  River, 
Erie  County,  Ohio.     Collected  by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell. 

Mylostoma  variabilis,  Newb. 
Plate  XV,  Figs.  l-fl»;  Pluto  XVI,  FigH.  1-4, 
Myhstoma  variabiliM,  N.;  Traus.  N.  Y.  Aciul.  Sci.,  vol.  2,  1883,  p.  146. 
Inferior  dental  plates  probably  of  several  forn:s,  the  larger  ones  lonjr. 
ovoid  in  outline,  three  inches  long  by  one  and  an  eighth  inches  wide  in  the 
broadest  part,  supported  on  and  anchylosed  to  a  vertically  flattened,  spatu- 
late  bone  eight  or  ten  inches  long  by  two  inches  wide ;  "the  crown  is  com- 
posed of  dense  bony  tissue  half  an  inch  in  thickness  anteriorly,  but  thinner 
near  the  narrow  posterior  end ;  crown  surface  dense  and  enamel-like,  granu- 
lar or  roughened  with  a  vermicular  marking,  rising  iiear  the  middle  and  on 
the  outer  side  into  a  strong  oblique  tubercle  or  boss.     Another  pair  of 
teeth,  probably  joining  these  anteriorly,  are  long-triangular,  with  the  pos- 
terior ends  obliquely  notched,  apparently  to  receive  the  obtuse  points  of  the 
larger  teeth.     TUeae  triangular  teeth  are  arched  above  and  the  sides  are  pro- 
longed downward  in  root-like  wings  which  were  once  buried  in  the  integu- 
ment    Possibly  other  teeth  were  joined  to  these  to  make  u])  the  pavement 
of  the  under  jaw.     Considerable  diversity  is  shown  in  the  character  of  the 
crown-surface  in  corresponding  teeth.     Three  of  these,  nearly  of  the  same 
size,  show  marked  diflerences,  viz:   One  bears  a  rudimentary  irregular  boss 
near  the  outer  angle ;  another,  from  the  opposite  side,  rises  into  a  strong, 
furrowed,  depressed,  obtuse  tubercle  half  an  inch  in  height ;  while  the  third, 
corresponding  in  position  with  the  last,  is  a  little  shorter  and  broader,  ami    • 
the  tubercle  is  laterally  deflected  and  compressed.     Still  another  and  very 
imperfect  tooth  of  sujaller  size  has  the  crown  elliptical  in  outline,  carrying 
a  blunt,  furrowed  tubercle,  relatively  larger  than  that  on  either  of  the  others. 
All  these  teeth  just  described  are  convex  above,  and  probably  formed  part 
of  the  dentition  of  the  lower  jaw. 

The  dental  plates  of  the  upper  jaw  form  several  pairs,  of  which  the 
central  and  largest  are  rudely  triangular  in  outline,  with  a  flattened  or  con- 
cave triturating  surface,  bearing,  as  do  some  of  the  inferior  teeth,  evidences 


■i 


166 


PALEOZOIC  PlHHEa  OF  NOUTII  AMERICA. 


B  :i  ! 


I  ! 


I\ 


i 


I 


+  fT 


of  wear.  The  Hurfnco  of  attacliniciit  to  tlio  cniiiiiim  of  tlicHo  ilontal  plates 
h  flat  or  concave  and  Honiewliat  rough,  from  the  conrse  celhihir  tiHHiie  of  tlio 
bono;  the  Hidow  are  straight  or  hoveled,  apparently  for  co-adaptation,  and 
by  tluH  chanu'ter  favor  the  conclusion  that  the  dentition  consisted  of  many 
pairs  of  plates,  constituting  a  tessellated  pavement;  the  crowns  of  the  teeth 
below  being  convex,  those  above  concave. 

Formation  mid  locality :  Cleveland  shale;  Sheffield,  Ohio.  Collected  by 
Mr.  Jay  Terrell. 

TRACHOSTEUS,  nov.  gen. 

Placoderm  fishes  of  medium  size,  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  Di- 
nichthidif.  Hody  inclosed  in  defensive  armor,  consisting  of  a  number  of 
large,  but  relatively  thin,  bony  plates,  of  which  the  outer  enameled  surface 
is  thickly  set  with  high  conical  tubercles,  that  are  acute,  rounded,  or  cupped 
at  the  summit.  The  spaces  between  these  tubercles  are  radiately  lined. 
The  form  of  the  head  is  not  distinctly  shown  in  the  only  specimen  yet  found; 
the  j)lates  of  the  body  consist  apparently  of  one  large  oblong  dorsomedian 
with  siveral  smaller  and  irregular  lateral  plates  united  wi*h  each  other  and 
the  dorsal  by  overlap  joints.  The  under  jaws,  as  in  all  of  the  Dinichthida!, 
consisted  of  cartilaginous  angidar  and  articular  parts  with  dense  bony  dent- 
ary  portions.  The  dentary  bones  are  nearly  straight ;  the  posterior  end  is 
spatulate  and  was  evidently  once  covered ;  the  anterior  third  or  exposed 
portion  carries  a  row  of  slender,  conical,  acute  teeth  along  its  upper  margin; 
premaxillaries  subtriangular  in  outline,  the  anterior  face  arched,  and  ter- 
minating below  in  an  acute  point;  the  posterior  edge  horizontal,  and  carry- 
ing slender,  pointed  teeth,  which  matched  with  a  portion  of  those  of  the 
mandible.  The  eye-orbits  are  relatively  large  and  round,  and  are  encircled 
by  a  ring  composed  of  four  sclerotic  plates,  of  which  those  of  one  side  are 
much  narrower  than  the  others.  The  exterior  surface  of  those  plates  is  in 
part  tuberculated  like  the  cranial  and  dorsal  plates,  in  part  smooth  or  radi- 
ately striated 

Only  one  specimen  of  the  fish  to  which  the  above  name  is  here  given 
has  yet  been  found,  and  of  this  the  parts,  though  all  present,  are  so  confused, 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  describe  them  fully.     The  ornamentation  of  the 


II 


FISHES  OF  THK  CAItllONIFKIiOUS  SYSTEM 


167 


Hurfaco  of  the  pIntoH  h,  liowover,  ho  peculiar  mid  Hti(ni{,'ly  nmi-kod,  that  it 
will  servo  for  the  identification  of  ovon  u  IViignient  wliurovor  found.  The 
urtitiitioa  of  tlie  gonim  are  apparently  closest  to  Aspidichthys  of  the  Huron 
hIuvIo,  but  more  material  of  both  is  needed  for  a  satisfactory  comparison. 

Tbaciiosteus  Clarkh,  n.  sp. 

Plato  XLII,  Figs.  1-8. 

The  characteristics  of  this  species  are  for  the  most  part  given  in  the 
generic  description,  and  its  more  minute  ami  specific  foafuros  can  only  bo 
detailed  when  other  individuals  shall  have  been  found.     The  dimensions  of 
that  which  has  served  as  a  basis  for  the  generic  description  can  be  best  in- 
ferred from  the  under  jaws,  of  which  the  dentary  bones  were  ap|)arently 
about  twelve  inches  in  length.     Unfortunately  the  anterior  extremities  are 
somewhat  broken,  and  therefore  the  exact  length  and  the  character  of  the 
symphysis  cannot  be  determined.     The  posterior  portion  of  each  is  straight, 
about  an  inch  in  width,  bhmt-pointed  or  rounded  and  flattened  at  the  end; 
the  anterior  portion  is  nearly  smooth  without  and  witiiin,  about  an  inch  in 
width,  and  carries  on  its  up])er  margin  acute,  rather  slender,  tooth,  which 
are  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  are  composed,  as  in  all  other 
members  of  the  fomily,  of  indurated  enamel-like  jaw-tissue.     The  premaxil- 
laries  are  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  the  anterior  portion  arched, 
excavated,  and  i)oiiited,  as  in  Diuichthys.     The  eye-orbit  is  one  and  three- 
qufu-ters  inches  in  diameter  and  nearly  round.     The  inequality  in  the  breadth 
of  the  sclerotic  plates  and  the  tuberculation  of  some  part  of  the  external  sur- 
face will  serve  at  once  to  distinguish  the  eye  of  this  fish  from  that  of  Bi- 
nichtln/s  OouIdU,  which  occurs  in  the  same  beds.     The  external  diameter  of 
the  ring  of  sclerotic  bones  is  about  the  same  in  both,  viz,  four  inches,  but 
in  Dinkhthys  the  orbit  is  elliptical  and  all  the  orbital  plates  are  of  about 
equal  breadth. 

The  outlines  of  the  dorsal  plate  cannot  be  fully  made  out  from  the 
single  specimen  yet  known,  but  it  was  apparently  oblong,  about  fifteen  inches 
in  length  by  ten  inches  broad  ;  the  anterior  (  ?  )  lateral  plates  are  unsyra- 
metrically  ovoid  in  outline,  about  six  inches  long  by  five  broad. 


I 


168 


PALEOZOFJ  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I 


I 


Formation  and  Iccality :  Cleveland  shale ;  banks  of  Rocky  River,  below 
Be.ea,  Ohio.  It  was  there  discovered  by  Dr.  William  Clark,  for  whom  tlie 
specific  name  is  given.  The  unique  specimen  which  formed  tlie  base  of  the 
above  description  is  in  the  geological  museum  of  Columbia  College. 

CxENACANTHUd   COMPRESSUS,   Newb. 

Plate  XXni,  Figs.  4-4>'. 

Ctenacanthus  compressus,  Newb. ;  Annals  N.  Y,  Acad,  Sci.,  vol.  1,  1878,  p.  191. 

Spine  six  to  ten  inches  long  by  one  and  a  half  inches  wide;  much  com- 
pressed ;  strongly  arched  above ;  anterior  margin  smooth ;  posterior  flat- 
tened, with  a  well-marked  rounded  ridge  along  the  central  line ;  upper  half 
of  posterior  face  thickly  set  with  couical  recurved  teeth  ;  exposed  portion 
wholly  covered  with  line  longitudinal  ribs,  which  are  highly  ornamented  by 
closely  a}  troxinated  transverse  lines;  pectination  finest  on  uaddle  and 
lower  portion  of  t  ides. 

The  flattened,  highly  compressed  form  of  this  spine  will  serve  to  dis- 
tinguish it  at  a  glaiicc  from  any  other  species  of  the  genus.  The  oinamen- 
tatioii  is  crowded  and  exact,  and  the  organ  must  have  been  in  life  decorative 
as  well  as  useful. 

I  have  recently  received  from  Dr.  William  Clark  a  nearly  complete 
spine  of  this  species,  only  the  unornamented  base  being  absent.  It  is  about 
nine  irches  long,  and  must  once  have  been  two  inches  longer.  It  is  much 
Cui  ved  backward,  but  more  uiiiforndy  than  the  spines  of  Ct.  Clarkii,  N.  Tha 
ornamentation  is  very  similar  to  that  of  that  species,  but  the  form  is  much 
ni'.)'-,)  compreRsed.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  two  species  may  have 
been  the  anterior  and  posterior  dorsal  defenses  of  the  same  fish. 

For  motion  and  locality:  Cleveland  shale;  Shefiield,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 
Found  by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell.  Type  specimen  in  the  cabinet  of  Columbia 
College. 

Ctenacanthus  Claekii,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXVI,  Figs.  2,  3. 

Spines  six  to  eight  inches  long,  about  one  inch  broad  at  the  base  of  the 
ornamented  portion,  and  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  greatest  thickness;  poste- 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


169 


rior  face  excavated  in  a  broad,  shallow  sulc-us,  which  is  bordered  above  by 
many  acute,  conical  teeth;  anterior  margin  subacute,  nearly  straight  below, 
strongly  curved  above;  sides  gently  arched,  ivholly  covered  with  relatively 
fine  and  uniform,  enameled,  pectinated  ridges,  coarser  toward  the  middle, 
where  there  are  some  twenty-five  on  each  side,  finer  toward  the  base,  where 
there  are  about  forty  on  a  side.  The  pectination  of  these  ridges  is  every- 
where fine,  but  much  closer  near  the  base,  where  it  forms  a  marked  char- 
acter; margin  of  enimeled  surface  at  base  curved  upwards  and  backwu-ds, 
reaclii.  -  the  posterior  fiice  about  the  middle;  medullary  cavity  opening 
posteriorly  up  to  the  niiddle  of  the  spine. 

In  its  general  aspect  this  beautiful  spine  is  not  unlike  Ctcnacanthus 
spcciosus,  St.  J.  &  W.,^  but  it  is  less  broad  and  compressed,  more  acute  and 
curved  above,  and  the  lateral  ridges  of  the  ornamented  portion  are  much 
more  closely  pectinated.  In  size  and  general  form  it  also  resembles  Ct 
vetnshis,  N.,-  but  is  thicker  below,  more  acute,  and  curved  above,  and  the 
longitudinal  ridges  are  very  nmch  more  numerous  and  more  closely  pecti- 
nated. The  ornamentation  of  the  sides  is  more  like  that  of  Ct.  compressus,  N. 
(PI.  XXIII,  Fig.  4),  but  it  is  much  less  compressed,  and  the  transverse 
raised  lines  which  form  the  pectination  are  closer.  Tlie  jiosterior  face  is 
also  without  the  central  i  idge  which  occurs  in  Ct.  compressus  and  many  other 
spines  of  Ctenacantlms  On  the  whole,  this  is  one  of  the  most  exact  and 
beautiful  species  of  the  genus,  and  1  take  pleasure  in  dedicating  it  to  Dr. 
William  Clark,  who  discovered  it  in  the  Cleveland  shale  near  Berea,  Ohio. 

•  HoPLONCHUs  PARVULU8,  Newb. 

Plate  XXV,  Fig.  5. 

In  the  Pala'ontology  of  Ohio,  volume  2,  page  55,  pi.  59,  fig.  3,  a  small 
spine  from  the  Cleveland  shale  is  figu:v  I  and  described  under  the  name  of 
Ctenacantlms  parvulus.  In  the  notes  on  ,  iiis  fossil  it  is  said  :  "This  little  spine 
is  referred  to  Ctenacantlms  with  some  doubt,  as  the  longitudinal  ribs  sliow  no 
■tubercles  or  scales  such  as  are  usually  found  on  the  spines  of  this  genus. 
It  agrees  with  them,  however,  in  the  generalities  of  its  form  and  markings, 
and  scarcely  affords  material  for  the  creation  of  a  new  genus." 

'  Geol.  Survey  lUinois,  --ol.  6,  p.  424,  pi.  14,  «g. ;!.        '  Paleontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p,  3:^6,  pi,  35,  fig.  :l. 


n 


MMM 


i 

i 
{ 

I 


170 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Since  the  date  of  that  report  (1875),  Mr.  J.  W.  Davis,  in  a  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London  for 
May,  1879,  "On  Some  Fish  Spines  and  Teeth  from  the  Lower  Coal  Meas- 
ures," figures  and  describes  a  number  of  small  dorsal  spines  which  should 
evidently  be  associated  'vith  that  under  consideration.  To  these  he  hm 
given  the  generic  name  Hnplonchus,  and  his  species  is  Hoplonchns  clegans. 
His  specimens  come  nearer  to  Ctenacanthis  than  that  from  the  Cleveland 
shale,  as  according  to  his  description  some  of  the  longitudinal  ridges  ai'e 
tubenulated  near  the  base.  Most  of  the  striae,  however,  are  smooth,  and 
the  denticles  of  the  posterior  border  are  like  those  of  our  specimen,  rela- 
tively large  and  widely  spaced.  . 

Cladodus  C0NCINNU8,  Newb. 

Plate  XXI,  Figs.  9,  10, 

Cladodus  concinnm,  N.;  Palaeontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  48,  pi.  58,  flg.  8. 

Teeth  fr  ni  one-half  an  inch  to  an  in(;li  in  height  and  breadth;  base 
narrow  boat-sihaped,  with  pointed  extremities;  central  cone  compressed,  with 
sharp  edges ;  posterior  face  flat  or  gently  rounded ;  anterior  strongly 
rounded;  1)ot]i  striated;  lateral  denticles  generally  two  pairs,  both  striated; 
external  pair  the  larger  and  divergent. 

Tliis  beautiful  species  is  noticeable  foi  its  compressed  double  edged  and 
strongly  striated  cone,  its  divergent  lateral  denticles,  and  its  narrow,  pointed 
base.  It  is  unusually  elegant  in  form,  and  is  one  of  the  most  highly  orna- 
mented of  all  the  species  of  the  genus. 

I'he  specimen  figured  in  the  Ohio  report  is  much  smaller  than  those 
since  obtained  by  Mr.  Terrell,  and  it  therefore  gives  a  false  impression  in 
regard  to  the  average  size.  Those  now  shown  are  selected  from  a  consid- 
erable number  and  fairly  represent  the  species. 

Fonnat'um  and  localiti/  :  Cleveland  shale ;  Lorain  County,  Ohio.  Col- 
lected by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell. 

Cladodus  Tekuelli,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXVII,  FigK  0-7. 
Teeth  of  various  sizes,  the  largest  one  inch  in  height  and  breadth; 
robust;  base  narrow,  boat-shaped,  with  rounded  lateral  extremities;  central 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


171 


cone  compressed,  with  sharp  edges ;  both  faces  arched,  though  unequally ; 
anterior  face  marked  by  four  to  six  strong  longitudinal  costaj,  reaching  from 
the  base  to  the  upper  third,  which  is  smooth  and  highly  polished ;  lateral 
denticles,  two  on  either  side,  exterior  pair  much  the  larger,  coarsely 
costate. 

The  remarkably  coarse  ridges  of  the  anterior  face  of  the  central  cone, 
together  with  the  size  of  the  teeth,  will  serve  to  distinguish  this  from  any 
species  before  described.  Some  of  the  teeth  of  smaller  species  of  Cladodus 
have  a  few  coarse  ridges  on  the  posterior  or  anterior  face  or  both,  such  as 
C.carinatus,  described  in  this  memoir;  C.  costatus,  N.  &  W.'etc;  but  none 
of  these  are  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  the  species  under  consideration. 

A  large  number  of  teeth  of  this  species  have  been  obtained  by  Mr.  Park 
Terrell  from  the  Cleveland  shale  in  the  valley  of  Black  River,  Lorain  County, 
Ohio.  About  seventy-five  of  these  were  lying  in  contact  or  so  closely 
approximated  that  they  may  be  regai-ded  as  belonging  to  the  dental  series 
of  one  fish.  These  show  great  differences  in  size,  some  b(;ing  an  inch  in 
height  and  breadth,  while  others  are  not  more  than  one-quarter  of  that  size. 
Between  these  extremes  there  is  a  gradation  in  size,  but  all  are  css-ntlally 
alike  in  form  and  markings;  having  like  characters  and  found  in  such  rela- 
tions, it  is  certain  that  they  belonged  to  one  fish. 

An  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  this  set  is  that  many  of  the  teeth 
have  the  central  cone  truncated  by  wear.  This  means  that  the  teeth  of 
Chdodns  were  more  permanent  than  those  of  mo.st  of  our  modern  sharks. 
Apparently  a  large  number  were  in  service  at  the  same  time,  and  they 
remained  for  the  most  part  in  position  and  eft'ective  during  the  life  of  the 
individual.  i 

A  jaw  of  a  small  species  of  Cladodus  yC.  PaUersoni)  found  at  Vance- 
buigh,  Ky.,  still  carrying  teeth,  shows  ten  or  more  rows  set  alternately,  and 
covering  the  arch  of  the  jaw  just  as  do  the  crushing  teeth  o{  lihyiwhobatus. 

The  figures  now  given  lepresent  three  medium-sized  teeth,  one  of  which 
is  slightly,  another  much  worn,  the  third  truncated  by  use. 

The  species  is  dedicated  to  Mr.  Park  Terrell,  principal  of  the  Institution 
for  the  Dumb  and  BxJnd  at  St^Augustine,  Fla.     lie  was  formerly  the  com- 

'  Guol.  Survey  Illiiuus,  ^'ol.  2, p. 87, pU.flg.lS.  ~~  " 


172 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


1 

i  ^ 

i 

1 

1 

fi 

« 

1 

t 


panion  of  his  fatlier,  Mr.  Jay  Terrell,  whose  name  is  so  frequently  mentioned 
on  these  pages,  in  his  fossil  hunting  expeditions,  and  shared  in  his  enthusi- 
asm and  success. 

Cladodus  tumidus,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  8,  9. 

Teeth  broad  and  low,  transverse  length  one  inch,  height  of  central 
denticle  half  an  inch,  base  half  an  inch  wide  from  front  to  roar,  slightly 
curved,  ends  rounded;  crown  carrying  three  denticles,  the  central  one 
robust,  much  recurved,  rounded  and  flattened  above  perhaps  by  wear,  finely 
striated  in  front  and  rear ;  lateral  cones  relatively  large,  abruptly  conical, 
strongly  recurved,  striated  throughout,  subacute. 

But  a  single  tooth  of  this  species  has  so  far  been  found.  It  was  obtained 
by  Mr.  Jay  Terrell  in  the  Cleveland  shale  at  Sheffield,  Ohio.  Others  will 
be  needed  before  the  species  can  be  fully  and  satisfactorily  defined,  but  it 
is  evident  at  a  glance  that  this  is  quite  different  from  any  of  the  species  of 
Cladodus  which  have  been  found  in  the  Cleveland  shale  and  from  all  that 
have  been  described  from  other  formations.  Its  marked  characteristics  are 
the  shortness  and  strength  of  the  cones  and  the  fine  striation  which  covers 
the  entire  surface  of  each.  In  the  specimen  before  us  the  central  cone  has 
evidently  been  somewhat  worn,  and  from  its  great  curvature  the  wear  has 
not  produced  a  blunt  point  as  in  C.  concinrms  and  C.  Terrell^  which  have 
striuglit  cones,  but  has  worn  off  vhe  anterior  portion  of  the  summit  obliquely, 
so  as  to  leave  a  rounded  but  acute  extremity.  The  characters  which  have 
been  cited  will  serve  to  distinguish  it  from  any  others  with  which  it  is  likely 
to  be  compared.  The  small  number  of  the  cones,  their  recurved  form, 
tumid  aspect,  and  finely  striated  surfaces,  with  the  narrow  curved  base,  will 
serve  to  identify  it  wherever  found. 

Ctenouus  Wagnebi,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXVII,  Fig.  30. 

Inferior  palatal  teeth  ovate  in  outline,  three  inches  four  lines  long  by 

two  inijhes  three  lines  wide ;  strongly  arched,  rising  one  inch  three  lines  at 

highest  point  when  resting  on  a  level  surface;  crown  traversed  by  seven 

strongly  marked  ridges,  separated  by  furrows  of  similar  triangular  section. 


-^virWaawJ-i:   ft.  *fA 


FISHES  OF  THE  0AEBONIFEROU8  SYSTKM. 


178 


Of  the  ridges  the  anterior  is  strongest,  the  others  diminisli  griuhially  until 
the  last  is  barely  discernible.  The  interior  and  middle  portions  of  the  ridgea 
are  smooth  and  moderately  acute ;  tiie  outer  third,  which  is  muj^h  broader 
and  strongly  curved  downward,  is  marked  by  a  series  of  transverse  furrows, 
which  j)roduce  first  rounded  tubercles,  and  then,  as  tlie  ridge  becomes 
broader,  a  series  of  transverse,  flattened,  elevated  bands. 

The  splenial  bone  on  which  the  tooth  is  set  projects  posteriorly  two 
inches  three  lines,  is  comparatively  thin  and  flat,  one  inch  six  lines  l)road  at 
its  wiijesi  part,  and  excavated  posteriorly  on  the  outside  by  a  broad  shallow 
notch,  which  forms  with  the  interior  curved  edge  an  acute  terminal  point. 

This  fine  tooth,  the  largest  species  yet  known  of  the  genus,  resembles 
in  the  number  and  relative  size  o£  its  ridges  Ctenoclus  ohliqims  and  Ct.  mono- 
ccros,  from  the  Northumberland  coal  field  of  England,  but  is  at  once  dis- 
tinguishable from  tliem  by  its  greater  size  and  the  broad,  transversely 
banded  ridges. 

No  portion  of  this  fish  has  been  found  except  a  single  inferior  dental 
plate  attached  to  the  splenial  bone.  This  was  obtained  by  Mr.  Frank 
Wagner  from  the  Cleveland  shale,  in  the  eastern  suburbs  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  the  species  is  dedicated  to  him. 


-  Phcebodus  politus,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XXVII,  Figs.  27-28". 

Teeth  small,  robust,  breadth  between  tips  of  later,,  1  cusps  six  to  twelve 
millimeters,  height  from  four  to  eight  millimeters,  base  broadly  elliptical, 
thick,  with  a  strong  bi-lobed,  pad-like  prominence  in  the  middle  of  the  upper 
surface,  concave  below,  with  a  narrow  arch  beneath  the  cusps  ;  cusps  three, 
of  nearly  equal  size,  with  minute  rudimentary  ones  in  the  angles  between 
them,  all  strongly  recurved,  flattened  in  front  with  salient,  acute  angles, 
rounded  behind;  surface  smootli  and  polished,  or  bearing  a  few  short,  coarse 
striations. 

We  have  in  these  little  teeth  an  important  addition  to  the  catalogue  of 
fossil  fishes  found  in  Ohio,  as  they  represent  a  gereric  group  extremely  rare 
elsewhere,  and  now  for  the  first  time  met  with  li  <tre.     It  is  one  also  which 


m 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OE  NORTH  AMERICA. 


\U 


liaa  iiitereBting  relations  witli  Cladodus  on  the  one  hand  and  Diplodus  on  the 
other;  constituting  in  some  sort  a  connecting  link  between  them.  In 
Cladodus  the  central  cusp  is  always  largest  and  often  greatly  preponderates 
over  the  lateral  ones.  In  Diplodus,  on  the  contrary,  the  lateral  denticles  are 
always  very  much  larger  than  the  central,  and  this  latter  is  not  luifrequently 
quite  obsolete.  In  I'ha'bodus,  however,  the  crown  supports  three  cusps  which 
are  of  nearly  equal  size. 

The  only  other  teeth  known  similar  to  these  are  those  of  which  the 
name  of  riicchodus  Sophkc  has  been  given  by  St.  John  and  Worthen,'  and 
obtained  from  the  middle  Devonian  of  Waterloo,  Iowa.  From  that  species 
ours  may  be  readily  distinguished  by  its  larger  size  and  its  more  elongated, 
recurved,  and  equiil  cusj)s.  The  concave  base  is  also  somewhat  notched 
posteriorly  in  our  species,  and  instead  of  a  double  pad  under  the  anterior 
border  it  has  a  narrow  and  accurately  defined  arch. 

The  te(!th  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  above  description  were  found 
by  Messrs.  Frank  Wagner  and  Jay  Terrell  in  the  Cleveland  shale  near  the 
mouth  of  Black  liiver,  Lorain  County,  Ohio.  They  exhibit  considerable 
range  of  size,  the  larger  being  twice  as  high  and  broad  as  the  smaller,  and 
in  the  larger  teeth  the  polished  surface  of  the  cusps  is  free  from  striations, 
while  in  the  smaller  form  there  are  a  few  relatively  coarse  raised  lines  on 
the  anterior  face  of  the  cusps  and  base.  In  other  respects  they  are  so 
much  alike  that  it  has  not  V)een  thought  best  to  distinguish  them  by  different 
specific  names.  Their  affinities  to  t'hidodus  are  shown  by  the  general  form 
of  the  base  and  by  the  pad-like  prominence  which  occuj)ies  the  central  por- 
tion of  its  ui)per  surface.  This  feature  is  quite  common  among  the  species 
of  Cladodiik,  but  the  teeth  under  consideration  are  distinguished  from  all 
members  of  that  generic  group  by  the  great  dev(dopment  of  the  lateral  cusps, 
which  are  perliaps  a  little  larger  than  tlie  central  one. 


ACTINOPHORUS,  nov.  gen. 

Tile-scaled  Ganoids,  of  medium  or  large  size,  long  and  slender ;  body 
cylindrical;  head  })ointed,  bony  ;  teeth  numerous,  conical,  acute;  fins  with- 
out fulcra,  delicate,  many-rajed;  scales  naiTow,  quadrangular,  thin. 

■Ueol.  Survey  of  Illinoia,  vol.  II,  p.  tffil,  pi.  1,  tigs.  \i-W. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


175 


Moro  nijiterial  ia  needed  before  the  fishes  of  this  jjfeims  can  ho  accurately 

described  and  their  rehitions  witli  other  recent  and  fossil  forms  determined. 

The  details  of  the  head  plates  cannot  be  made  out  from  the  specimens  yet 

obtained,  since  the  bony  structure  of  the  cranium  readily  exfoliates,  the 

outer  surface  adhering-  firmly  to  the  matrix,  the  plates  and  bones  being  thus 

split  and  tliei  •  surfaces  and  outlines  lost.     So  far  as  we  can  judge  from  this 

material  of  the  genus  Adbwphorm  it  would  seem  to  be  most  closely  allied  to 

the  Palteoniscidic,  and  }et  an  aberrant  member  of  the  group  of  the  Lepidos- 

teidaj,  occupying  an  intermediate  position   between  Pahrouiscus  and  the 

Chondrosteidai.     The  absence  of  fulcra  is  perhaps  not  complete,  as  they  ma\ 

be  carried  by  the  upper  lobe  of  the  caudal  fin,  a  character  not  shown  in  the 

specimens  before  us ;  but  this  is  not  a  family,  but  rather  a  generic  character, 

for  within  the  family  of  the  Pal,x*oniscida',  the  genera  Paheonincus,  Euryno- 

tus,  etc.,  have  the  fins  all  bordered  with  fulcra,  while  VlatyHonms  is  without 

them.     None  of  the  fins  are  lobate,  and  therefore  it  is  not  a  Crossopterygian. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  when  better  specimens  of  this  fi^^h  shall  be  obtained 

and  we  are  able  to  complete  our  description  of  it,  it  will  be  found  to  hold 

important  relations  to  the  other  described  Pahrozoic  tile-scaled  Ganoids,  and 

will  perhaps  become  the  type  of  a  new  family. 

AcTiNOPHORus  Clakkii,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XLIX,  Figs.  1,  1».  , 

Body  slender,  about  two  feet  in  length  by  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  pectoral  fins ;  head  conical,  pointed,  well  ossified,  seven  to 
eight  inches  long,  branchiostegals  numerous ;  pectoral  fins  brojully  conical, 
somewhat  ftilcate,  three  inches  long  by  one  and  a  half  wide,  containing  about 
sixty  fine,  parallel,  ossified  rays  ;  anal  fin  eighteen  inches  from  muzzle,  rela- 
tively small,  triangular  in  outline;  caudal  strongly  heterocercal ;  dorsal 
unknown  ;  scales  oblong,  two  to  three  nn'llimeters  wide  by  five  niillimeters 
long,  thin  and  delicate ;  body  long-fusiform  or  cylindrical,  as  broad  as  higli. 

This  peculiar  fish  constitutes  one  of  several  discoveries  recently  made 
by  Dr.  William  Clai-k,  of  Berea,  in  the  Cleveland  shale  at  Brooklyn,  Cuya- 
hoga County,  Ohio.     He  has  obtained  parts  of  several  individuals,  but  they 


i 


■f 


176 


PALEOZOIO  FISHES  OV  NORTH  AMERICA. 


seem  to  have  been  of  delicate  structure,  and  their  preservation  is  sonjewhat 
unsatisfactory.  The  most  Hirikin<j  feature  presented  by  these  fishes  is  th(» 
long  cylindrical  body,  which  is  generally  found  lying  upon  the  back  with  the 
pectoi'al  fins  broadly  extended.  '^J'hese  are  remarkable  for  the  great  number 
of  fine  bony  rays  which  traverse  them,  and  which  seem  to  have  been  rarely 
jointed.  The  habits  of  this  fish  were  undoubtedly  carnivorous,  and  judging 
from  the  long  pointed  head  and  slender  body  it  must  have  been  very  swift 
in  its  motions.  The  affinities,  as  has  been  mentioned,  are  probably  with 
Paheoniscus,  but  it  differs  from  all  the  species  of  that  genus  in  the  absence 
of  fulcra  from  the  pectoral,  anal,  and  perhaps  the  dorsal  and  caudal  fins. 

ASTEROPTYCIIIUS   ELEGANS,  n.  Sp. 

Plate  XXV.  Fig.  4.  . 

Spine  six  inches  in  length  by  four  lines  wide  in  the  broadest  portion 
lower  half  nearly  straight,  upper  portion  gently  curved  backward ;  basal 
or  buried  portion  about  one  inch  in  length,  conical  in  form,  finely  and 
irregularly  striated ;  angle  between  plain  and  ornamented  surface  4r)° ; 
section  a  compressed  triangle ;  enameled  portion  traversed  by  strongly 
marked,  continuous,  arched,  and  smooth  ridges,  eight  in  number  at  the  base, 
six  within  an  inch  of  the  summit.  These  ridges  are  separated  by  narrower 
furrows  which  are  longitudinally  striated,  and  toward  the  sunnnit  each  is 
set  with  a  row  of  tubercles ;  posterior  angles  bearing  relatively  strong 
denticles  througliout  nearly  the  entire  length ;  above,  these  are  hooked 
downward  ;  in  the  lower  part  of  the  spine  they  are  triangular. 

Of  this  beautiful  spine  I  have  two  specimens,  of  which  one  id  quite 
complete.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  symmetry  of  its  form  and  elegance  of 
its  ornamentation.  It  would  doubtless  be  classed  by  all  palaeontologists  as 
a  species  oi  AsteroptycMus,  and  may  perhaps  serve  as  a  fair  representative  of 
that  genus,  although  the  longitudinal  ribs  are  relatively  wider  and  the  fur- 
rows much  narrower  than  in  the  type.  Of  described  species  it  is  perhaps 
most  like  A.  St.  Ludovki,  St.  J.  &  W.,'  tlie  size  and  form  being  nearly  the 
same,  but  it  may  be  at  once  distinguished  from  that  species  by  the  teeth, 

>  Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol,  6,  p.  437,  pi.  16,  figs.  3-4  «. 


FISUES  OF  THE  (JAKBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


177 


which  are  much  more  widely  separated  and  are  relatively  larger ;  also  by 
the  ornamentation,  in  which  the  longitudinal  ridges  are  relatively  wider  and 
fewer  in  number. 

Formation  and  locality :  Lower  Carboniferous  sandstone ;  (Waverly), 
Grindstone  City,  Mich.     Collected  by  Dr.  Charles  Rominger. 

'    "/;  GyRACANTIIUS   INOBNATUS,  n.  sp. 

riate  XXIII,  Fig.  6. 

Spine  large,  slightly  curved,  laterally  compressed  with  an  elliptical  sec- 
tion, both  edges  being  rounded;  s'  if  ace  markings  light,  consisting  of  fine 
longitudinal  striae  visible  over  most  of  the  surface,  and  parallel,  oblique, 
incised  lines,  which  occupy  the  sides  and  converge  toward  the  anterior  border. 

Only  the  upper  half  of  one  of  these  spines  and  the  point  of  another  are 
yet  known.  The  larger  specimen  is  very  obtuse,  evidently  much  worn 
and  rounded  by  use,  as  the  spines  of  other  species  of  Gyracanthus  so  fre- 
quently are.  The  sides  are  also  worn,  and  the  oblique  lines  which  once  for 
the  most  part  covered  them,  never  being  strong,  are  nearly  obliterated. 
The  point  of  another  spine  on  the  same  block  of  stone  is  rounded  in  section 
and  acute. 

The  most  striking  feature  in  these  spines  is  their  nearly  smooth  sur- 
face and  the  single  set  of  oblique  lines  on  the  sides.  Usually  in  Gyracanthus 
there  are  two  sets  of  these  lines,  crossing  at  right  angles  and  producing  a 
rasp-like  surface. 

Formation  and  locality :  Waverly  group;  Wayne  County,  Ohia 

Cladodus  Romingeei,  Newb. 

Plate  XXVII,  Fig  10. 

Cladodus  Bomingcri,  N. ;  Palitontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  49. 

Teeth  small,  breadth  of  base  seven  lines,  height  of  median  cone  five 
lines ;  central  cone  flattened  behind,  deeply  sinused  at  base,  anterior  ftice 
rounded ;  lateral  cones  two  pairs,  with  sometimes  a  rudimentary  one  at  the 
base  of  the  central  cone ;  outer  pair  slightly  less  in  size  than  the  inner  ones; 
surface  of  both  central  and  lateral  coiujs  strongly  striated. 


MON   XVI- 


12 


iimm 


Kmmmm 


111 


t 


178 


rALliOZOK!  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEUICA. 


This  species  resembles  C.  acntus  imd  C.  niirabilLs,  Ag.,'  but  differg 
from  both  in  having  the  interior  pair  of  secondary  cones  as  largo  as  the 
outer  pair,  or  even  larger ;  in  this  respect  it  is  unlike  any  other  species 
known  to  me  except  C.  Hcrtgeri? 

C.  Romiugerl  was  briefly  described  in  the  Pala-ontology  of  Ohio,  but  no 
figure  was  there  given  of  it. 

Formation  and  locdliti/ :  Waverly  sandstone;  Battle  Creek,  Mich.  Col- 
lected by  Dr.  Charles  liominger,  to  whom  it  is  dedicated. 

MAZODUS,  nov.  gen. 

Teeth  of  Elasmobranch  fishes  often  of  large  size,  thick  and  massive, 
with  an  ovoid,  elliptical,  or  angular  outline ;  upper  surface  arched  in  both 
directions,  smooth  or  finely  granulated ;  under  surface  concave,  coarsely 
pitted,  and  variously  furrowed  and  lobed ;  sides  marked  by  irregular,  often 
pustulous  ridges ;  interior  similar  throughout,  showing  irregular,  vertical, 
calcigerous  tubes  or  columns  closely  compacted  into  a  dense,  hard,  and 
enamel-like  tissue. 

The  objects  which  form  the  basis  of  the  above  description  are  peculiar 
and  their  nature  and  functions  are  somewhat  problematical.  These  speci- 
mens, from  the  Waverly  of  Ohio,  evidently  belong  to  a  group  which  includes 
the  so-called  teeth  of  Helodus  riidis  of  Agassiz  and  McCoy,  and  the  peculiar 
specimen  called  Petrodus  1  pustulosns,'^  N.  &  W.  They  all  present  some  char- 
acters which  are  not  found  in  other  fish  teeth,  and  which  at  one  time  led  me 
to  consider  them  as  dermal  ossicles,  viz:  First,  the  arched  upper  surface  is 
granulated  or  pitted  in  (pnte  a  different  v/ay  from  that  of  the  teeth  of  Psam- 
modus  and  all  allied  genera.  Second,  they  are  composed  of  dense  enamel- 
like tissue  throughout,  with  no  division  into  crown  and  base,  one  enamel 
and  the  other  bone,  such  as  we  find  in  all  known  crushing  teeth  of  Elasmo- 
branch fishes.  Third,  the  sloping  sides  are  marked  with  irregular,  often 
tuberculated  ridges,  which  are  absent  from  the  borders  of  all  other  unmis- 
takable fish  teeth,  and  which  closely  resemble  the  markings  on  the  sides 

'Poissons  Fossiles,  vol.  3,  jip.  197,  199,  pi.  22,  figs.  9,  12-21. 
,       ,  ^  PaliDontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  46,  pi.  57,  flgs  .5,  5». 

»Geol.  Survey  llliuois,  vol.  4,  p.  369,  pi.  2,  figs.  5,  5«,  pi.  3,  flg.  6. 


. 


FISHES  OF  THE  OAKBONIPEUCUS  SYSTEM. 


179 


of  the  objects  whicli  are  described  l;y  McCoy  under  tbe  name  of  I'etrodus 
and  now  tliought  U>  bo  dernuil  tubercles  Yet  tliey  are  so  large  and  nuis- 
Hivo  that  tlioy  present  in  this  respect  little  similarity  to  any  hitherto  known 
tnborcles,  and  one  of  the  specimens  before  ns  has  the  upper  surface  pecu- 
liarly flattened  as  though  by  wear.  lienco  I  have  thought  best  to  consider 
them  the  crushing  teeth  of  Klasmobranch  fishes,  and  perhaps  allied  to  Jlelo- 
dm,  as  defined  by  Agassiz  and  McCoy. 

Since  tlie  above  description  was  written  a  large  amount  of  additional 
material  bearing  on  this  subject  has  been  obtained  by  Prof  William  Kepler, 
of  Beroa,  Ohio,  who  lias  kindly  put  it  into  my  hands  for  study.     This  mate- 
rial consisits  of  a  number  of  the  teeth  of  3Iazodus  and  the  jaws  which  sup- 
ported them.     They  were  fcund  dismemb.-red,  but  in  close  proximity,  and 
intermingled  so  that  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  belonged 
to  one  individual,  and  they  throw  much  light  on  the  structure  and  relations 
of  the  genus.     The  jaws  were  coniposed  of  prismatic  cartilage,  which  in 
virtue  of  the  special  duty  they  performed  were  more  ossified  than  other 
portions  of  ti'e  skeleton,  and  hence  were  firmer  and  less  perishable.    I  have 
frequenuy  ^oimd  this  condition  of  preservation  in   the  jaws  of  Diplodus 
in  llio  Coal  Jleasures  and  Cladodus  in  the  Waveriy  shales,  the  rami  sep- 
arated, the  teotJi  sometimes  in  p  isition,  oftener  scattered  about  in  imme- 
diate proximity    to  them.     As    in  all  such  cases,  the  jaws  are  flattened 
and  distorted,  but  retain  much  cf  their  substance  and  approxiuuvtely  their 
outlines.  -    .  * 

The  mandibles  of  Mazodus  are  seven  to  eight  inches  long  and  an  inch 
and  a  quarter  to  one  and  a  half  inches  wide.  They  show  on  the  upper  sur- 
faces depressions  which  correspond  to  the  jrosition  of  the  teeth.  Of  thes's, 
ten  were  found  grouped  together,  all  in  contact  and  some  of  them  in  their 
relative  positions.  A  larger  number  evidently  composed  the  dental  series, 
but  the  others  were  lost.  Those  preserved  show  a  great  diversity  of  size 
and  form,  the  larger  and  more  angular  teeth  having  several  smaller  ones, 
and  these  more  elliptical  in  .shape  grouped  around  them.  How  many  com- 
posed the  complete  dentition  we  have  as  yet  no  means  of  knowing,  but 
those  found  in  this  group  apparently  form  but  a  part  of  the  set  belonging 
to  the  under  jaw. 


SMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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Hi    1^ 
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2.2 


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IL25  i  1.4 


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QC 

Sdetices 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

(711)  872-4503 


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I 


180 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  UF  NOllTD  AMERICA. 


This  discovery  removes  all  doubt  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the 
organs,  and  shows  tliat  Mazodus  was  an  Elasniobranch  fish,  with  strong 
pavement  teeth,  fitted  for  crushing  nioUusks  and  crustaceans,  or  for  triturat- 
ing vegetable  tissues ;  a  Shark,  )3ei-haps  alHed  to  Psamnwdus,  but  differing 
from  thai  genus  in  the  pattern  formed  by  the  pavement  teeth,  and  still  more 
in  their  anatomical  structure.  ;  ^     - 

Mazodus  Kepleei,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXI,  Figs.  1-3. 

Teeth  of  various  sizes  and  shapes,  largest  two  and  a  half  inches  long 
by  two  inches  wide  and  half  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  outline  pentago- 
nal or  subtriangular,  anterior  angle  subacute,  lateral  angles  prominent,  pos- 
terior angles  -obtuse  and  rounded,  with  a  deep  sulcus  between  them,  or  united 
to  form  an  arched  posterior  extremity  ;  upper  surface  arched  in  both  direc 
tions;  when  unworn,  granulated  or  pitted;  under  surface  slightly  concave, 
coarsely  pitted,  and  more  or  less  lobate  or  tubercled^  sides  beveled  or 
arched,  and  marked  by  irregular  furrows,  separated  by  pustulous  or  tumid 
ridges;  whole  surface  polished;  substance  dense  and  enamel  like.  Tlie 
pmaller  teeth  were  arranged  around  the  larger,  and  are  trapezoidal,  subtri- 
angular or  elliptical  in  outline,  and  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter. 

The  angular  outlines  of  these  teeth  will  at  once  distinguish  them  from 
those  with  which  they  must  be  generically  united,  viz,  Hclodus  rudis,,  Agas- 
siz,'  and  McCoy,  ^  and  J.  W.  Davis,  ^  as  also  with  that  described  and  figured 
in  the  Geology  of  Illinois.* 

The  smaller  of  the  two  specimens  first  found  (Fig.  1)  is  absolutely 
complete  in  all  its  parts ;  thy  surface  being  highly  polished  and  having  suf- 
fered no  wear.  The  upper  surfixce  of  the  larger  specimen  is  less  perfect  in 
its  preservation,  and  shows  a  double  depression,  which  seems  to  be  the  result 
of  attrition. 

The  under  surface  of  these  teeth  is  concave  and  peculiarly  pitted  and 
furrowed;  that  of  the  larger  one  somewhat  lobed,  and  showing  considerable 

'Ann.  Nat.  Hist.,  2d  series,  vol.  2,  p.  12;i. 

..  ,  .,  «Brit.  Pal.  Fossils,  1854,  p.  631,  pi.  3,  fig.  4. 

'Fossil  Fishes  Carbonif.  Limestoue,  p.  157,  pi.  59,  figs.  U,  11*. 
*  Vol.  4,  p.  369,  pi.  2,  figs.  6,  5*. 


PISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIPEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


181 


^ 


similarity  to  the  under  surface  of  the  brain  of  certain  animals.  It  is  evident 
from  these  characters  that  they  did  not  rest  on  any  hard,  smooth  substance, 
like  the  jaw  which  supports  the  flattened  teeth  of  rsammodus,  etc.,  and  we 
must  conclude  that  they  were  set  upon  or  implanted  in  comparatively  soft 
tissue. 

Formation  and  locality  :  Bnse  of  Cuyahoga  shale ;  immediately  over 
Berea  grit,  Berea,  Ohio.  Collected  by  Dr.  William  Clark  and  Prof.  W  illiam 
Kepler,    •■■r';:,      ,„.^   ...  „  ..-:V'''^    •".- 

CteNACANTIIUS  ANviUSTUS,   n.   sp. 

Spine  ten  inches  long  by  one  inch  wide  at  broadest  part,  gently  and 
uniformly  arched ;  laterally  compressed ;  exposed  portion  occupied  by  rela- 
tively few  and  broad  closely  pectinated  ridges,  of  which  the  strongest,  of 
double  average  width,  forms  the  anter'or  margin ;  this  is  annulated  by 
closely  set  transverse  lines,  while  on  the  lateral  ridges  the  cross  lines  are 
slightly  oblique,  rising  backward;  the  ridges  are  about  twelve  in  number  on 
each  side  at  the  middle  of  the  spine. 

This  species,  by  its  more  slender  form  and  few  strong  enamel  ridges, 
may  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  from  Ct.  Clarkii,  N  ,  with  which  it  is  asso- 
ciated, and  these  features  serve  also  to  separate  it  from  most  others  known. 
In  general  form  it  is  not  unlike  Ct.  formosus,^  N.,  but  it  is  somewhat  more 
robust  and  has  not  half  the  number  of  longitudinal  ridges.  From  Ct.fiirci- 
carinatus,  N.  (loc.  cit.)  it  is  also  separated  by  the  latter  character,  though  the 
pectination  of  the  ridges  is  similar. 

Formation  and  locality :  Berea  grit ;  Berea,  Ohio.  Collected  by  Dr. 
WiUicim  CkM-k. 


Skction  E. — Fishes  of  the  Carbonifekous  Limestone. 

Tlie  central  member  of  the  Carboniferous  system — the  Mountain  Lime- 
stone of  England,  the  Bergkalk  of  Germany,  the  Calcaire  Carbonifcre  of 
France,  tlie  Sub-carboniferous  or  Lower  Carboniferous  limestone  of  Ameri- 
can geologists — has  been  described  in  general  terms  on  the  preceding  pages. 
Since  it  is  a  marine  deposit  of  great  thickness,  and  therefore  the  evidence 

'  Palieoiitology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  53.  pi.  59,  fig.  1. 


I! 


m 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOllTD  AMEfllCA. 


of  an  immense  lapse  of  time  at  an  age  of  the  world  when  fishes  had  become 
numerous  and  diversified,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  have  left  here  a 
voluminous  record.  Though  Amphibians  had  already  made  iheir  appear- 
ance, as  we  learn  by  the  foot-prints  on  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks,  fishes 
were  still  the  ruling  dynasty  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  had  not  yet  en- 
countered the  rivalry  of  the  powerful  aquatic  reptiles  of  the  Reptilian  age, 
or  the  mammals  of  the  Tertiary.  In  the  Devonian  they  l.ad  the  ocean, 
lakes,  and  rivers  all  to  themselves,  and  with  abundant  food  and  no  formida- 
ble enemies,  they  multiplied  rapidly  and  soon  had  ti.ken  complete  posses- 
sion of  the  world  of  waters.  In  the  Carboniferous  age  they  had  been  modi- 
fied and  specialized  until  some  of  them  were  adapted  to  all  its  conditions, 
and  had  taught  themselves  to  capture  and  digest  all  kinds  of  food  that  the 
seas  contained. 

Almost  daily  auditions  are  made  to  the  list  of  fishes  found  in  the  Car- 
boniferous limestone,  and  it  is  evident  that  we  have  much  yet  to  learn  of 
its  fish  fauna,  but  already  the  names  of  the  species  described  from  this 
formation  ccaipose  a  longer  catalogue  than  that  of  any  other  geologic  sys- 
tem, perhaps  iiidoed  of  all  others.  When  we  combine  the  contributions 
to  its  ichthyology  made  by  Agassiz,  Portlock,  De  Koninck,  Von  Beneden, 
Egerton,  McCoy,  Davis,  Worthen,  St.  John,  and  the  writer,  we  shall  find 
that  they  embrace  noarly  one-half  the  literature  of  fossil  fishes.  In  the 
Monograph  of  the  "Fossil  Fishes  of  the  Cariwniferous  Limestone  Series  of 
Great  Britain,"  by  Mr.  J.unes  W.  Davis,^  one  hundred  and  sixty-three 
species  are  enumerated,  while  'n^  volumes  2,  4,  6,  and  7  of  the  Illinois  Geolog- 
ical Survey  three  hundred  and  ninety-one  species  of  fishes  are  described  by 
Mr.  St.  John  and  myself,  of  whi<;h  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  are  from 
the  Carboniferous  limestone  and  Jvinderiiook  group.  To  these  should  be 
added  the  species  described  by  Daw'^on,^  Leidy,'  and  the  writer,*  and  we 
have  an  aggregate  of  nearly  four  hundr.  d  species  from  the  Carboniferous 
limestone  of  this  continent,  and  about  six  imndred  species  from  this  country 
and  Europe.     Of  these  nearly  all  are  Elasniobranchs,  and  the  descriptions 


1  Sciontific  Trans.  Royal  Dublin  Soo., 

»  Acadian  Geology. 

sjour.  Acad.  Nat.  8ci.,  Pliila. 

*  Rep.  Geol.  Survey  Indiana  for  1878. 


1  .series,  vol.  1. 


it 


FISHES  OF  TUB  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


183 


i 


p 


are  based  on  teeth  and  spines  which,  separating  from  tlij  cartilaginous  jaws 
and  perishable  integuments,  were  with  the  dermal  tubercles  scattered  broad- 
cast over  the  sea  bottom.  In  these  circumstances  it  is  evident  that  the 
number  of  species  has  been  exaggerated  by  giving  different  names  to  spines 
and  teeth  which  once  belonged  together.  It  is  also  probable  that  the  species 
have  been  multiplied  by  assigning  distinct  names  to  the  teeth  of  different 
forms  which  once  belonged  to  a  single  dental  series.  Among  the  Cestra- 
cionts,  which  include  a  large  part  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous  Elasmo- 
branchs,  there  is  a  marked  difference  between  the  teeth  of  the  symphysis 
and  those  which  cover  the  posterior  portions  of  the  jaws;  hence  it  is  possi- 
ble that  we  have  as  yet  obtained  from  this  formation  traces  of  not  more 
than  three  hundred  different  kinds  of  aharks.  This,-however,  ibrms  a  richer 
Elasmobranch  fauna  than  that  which  inhabits  our  present  seas ;  the  num- 
ber of  living  species  of  Sharks,  Rays,  and  Chimaeras  being,  according  to 
Dr.  Gunther,  oidy  about  two  hundred  and  eighty. 

Although  we  probably  have  as  yet  but  a  fraction  of  the  fish  fauna 
of  the  Carboniferous  seas  represented  in  our  collections,  we  certainly 
have  enough  to  give  us  a  good  idea  of  its  zoological  character  and  rela- 
tions. 

In  reviewing  the  material  before  us  we  find  an  almost  total  absence  of 
the  Placodjrms  and  scaled  Ganoids,  which  gave  character  to  the  fish  fauna 
of  all  bodies  of  water,  salt  or  fresh,  in  the  Devonian  age.  Comparing  the 
fishes  of  the  Corniferous  with  those  of  the  Mountain  limestone,  the  differ- 
ence is  surprising.  In  the  first  are  many  dermal  tubercles,  some  spines 
{Machcur acanthus),  and  very  rarely  one  of  the  pavement  teeth  of  a  conchiv- 
orous  Shark ;  the  greater  part  of  the  remains  being  those  of  Placoderras  and 
Ganoids.  In  the  Carboniferous  limestone,  on  the  contrary,  the  spines  and 
teeth  of  Sharks  are  found  in  infinite  variety,  but  scarce  a  plate  or  scale  to 
record  the  presence  of  a  Placpderm  or  a  Ganoid.  These  were,  however, 
not  wanting  to  the  fauna  of  the  age;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  along  the  shores 
and  in  the  bays  where  the  Waverly  strata  were  deposited — to  a  large  degree 
synchronous  with  the  lower  beds  of  the  limestone — we  find  abundant 
remains  of  the  great  Placodi'rrns — Dinichthys,  Titanichthijs,  etc. — and  where 
the  conditions  were  favorabJo,  of  many  little  Palseoniscoid  fishes.     But  all 


184 


PALEOZOIC  FlbriES  OP  NOllTn  AMERICA. 


in 


these  had  been  driven  from  the  open  sea,  as  they  were  not  capable  of  suc- 
cessfully competing  with  the  varied  and  powerful  Sharks. 

Sr.me  other  interesting  things  also  come  out  in  the  study  of  the  Car- 
boniiorous  Elasmobranch  fauna. 

Judging  from  the  teeth,  which  are  the  most  cliaracteristic  organs,  we 
may  infer  that  in  the  Carboniferous  age  the  Elasmobranchs  as  a  whole  were 
far  less  sanguinary  and  formidable  than  now.  At  least  three-fourths  of  all 
the  species  described  had  crushing  teeth,  adapted  to  the  trituration  of  sea- 
weeds or  to  breaking  the  shells  of  moUusks  and  crustaceans,  and  the  number 
of  those  provided  with  cutting  or  piercing  teeth  was  comparatively  small. 
Most  of  the  teeth  were  considerably  like  those  of  the  Port  Jackson  shark, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that,  as  suggested  by  Agassiz,  this  peculiar  mem- 
ber of  our  present  fauna  is  a  descendant  and  a  representative  of  the  most 
numerous  and  characteristic  tribe  of  Carboniferous  Plagiostomes. 

That  the  food  of  these  fishes  was  generally  mollusks,  and  sometimes 
those  with  very  resistant  shells,  is  proved  by  the  massive  character  of  the 
dentition,  the  pitted  or  ridged  surface  of  the  enamel  to  prevent  the  slipping 
of  the  objects  crushed,  and  also  by  the  evidences  of  wear  at  the  places  where 
the  greatest  mechanical  effect  was  gained. 

The  simplest  form  of  dentition  adapted  to  crushing  was  that  of  Fsam- 
modus,  of  which  the  teeth  were  quadrangular,  from  one  to  three  inches 
square  and  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  thickness,  composed  of  solid  dentine 
below  and  a  thick  sheet  of  pitted  ename'.  above.  Closely  allied  to  Psam- 
modus  was  Archceohatis,  of  which  the  teeth  are  figured  on  the  plates  accom- 
panying this  memoir.  The  dentition  of  this  genus  formed  a  pavement  of 
many  teeth,  of  v>hich  the  largest  were  six  inches  long  by  four  inches  wide 
and  one  and  a  half  inches  thick.  To  prevent  the  slipping  of  the  objects 
operated  upon  by  this  powerful  crusher  the  enameled  surface  was  roughened 
by  transverse,  parallel  ridges,  precisely  as  in  the  living  Rhynclwhatus. 

The  first  deviation  from  this  simplest  style  of  dentition  is  found  in 
Sandalodus,  Bdtodus,  Cochliodus,  etc.,  in  which  the  teeth  are  of  different 
sizes  and  forms  on  the  same  jaw,  and  are  more  or  less  arched  or  twisted. 
The  next  is  Chomatodus,  in  which  the  teeth  were  long  and  narrow,  flat  or 
ridged  on  the  upper  surface,  and  placed  transversely,  like  those  of  the 


r 
i 


f      ^ 


F18UE8  OF  TUE  (JAUJiONlFEliOUS  SYSTEM. 


185 


modern  Rays.  Another  form  of  crushing  teeth  is  that  of  Orodtis,  in  which 
the  crown  rises  in  a  series  of  hillocks,  forming  a  miniature  mountain  chain 
(whence  the  name),  of  which  the  central  summit  is  highest.  Of  these  teeth 
there  is  a  great  variety.  Some  of"  them  have  the  crown  most  elaborately 
carveil  and  ornamented,  and  some  are  of  great  size ;  Orodus  ramosits,  of  the 
Mountain  limestone,  having  the  mouth  filled  with  a  hundred  or  more  teeth 
that  wure  from  two  to  five  inches  in  length.  A  closely  allied,  if  not  identi- 
cal, species  from  the  Carboniferous  limestone  of  Illinois  was  still  larger. 

A  group  of  Sharks  with  peculiar  cutting  teeth — the  Petalodontida?— 
formed  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  Carboniferous  fish-fauna  ruiming 
through  the  Carboniferous  limestone  and  the  Coal  Measures.  These  had 
teeth  of  which  the  crowns  had  the  form  of  the  blade  of  a  long-handled 
shovel,  and  were  usually  attached  to  a  strong  root,  that  must  have  been 
firmly  planted  in  the  integuments  of  the  jaw.  Antliodus  is  a  form  related  to 
Pctahdm,  but  in  the  teeth  of  this  genus  the  root  is  very  small  or  wanting. 
In  Poljjfhkodus  the  crown  of  the  tooth  was  like  that  of  Chomafodus,  while 
the  root  was  divided  into  a  number  of  lobes.  An  allied  form,  Dadylodus, 
liad  the  crown  of  Pctalodus  and  a  root  consi.sting  of  many  finger-like 
l)ranches. 

The  Sharks  with  piercing  teeth  formed  the  genus  Cladodits  and  its  allies, 
wliich  were  numerous  and  wide-spread  during  all  the  Carboniferous  age. 
These  had  teeth  with  broad  semilunar  bases,  which  afforded  a  firm  sup- 
port to  an  acute,  conical,  and  usually  anci})ital  central  cone,  flanked  by 
one  or  more  lateral  denticles,  of  which  the  exterior  pair  were  largest.  Some 
of  the  species  of  Cladodm  must  have  been  large  and  formidable  fishes ;  the 
teeth  were  in  many  rows,  several  hundred  in  each  set,  and  the  central  cone 
was  sometimes  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length. 

The  spines  of  the  Carboniferous  Sharks  have  been  already  alluded  to; 
and  they  also  afford  proof  of  the  size  of  their  wearers.  Many  of  the  spines 
of  Ctenacanthm  attain  the  length  of  a  foot  or  more,  while  the  great  spines  of 
Phoderacanthus,  described  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Davis,  were  more  than  two  feet  in 
length  and  six  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  genera,  with  the  number  of  species  in  each, 
up  to  the  present  time,  described  from  the  Lower  Carboniferous  limestone 


1«6 


PALEOZOIO  FISUES  OP  NORTH  AMBUICA. 


in  Nortli  America.  The  letters  set  opposite  the  names  are  abbreviations  of 
the  names  of  the  describers,  as  follows:  A<^.,  Agassiz;  McC,  McCoy;  Daw., 
Sir  William  Dawson;  S.  &  W.,  St.  John  and  Worthen;  N.  &  W.,  Newberry 
and  Worthen ;  N.,  Newberry. 


Genera. 


Acondjilacnnthiin,  S.  &  W. 

AgaHHiiodiis,  S.  &  W 

.f/»ncanlhus,  S.  &  W 

AnadHiii'f/ilhus,  S.  &  W  . 

AntUodun,'ii.  &.  \r 

Anpidodus,  N.  <&  W  

Astiroptycli i««,  Ag 

IlalncanthuH,  S.  &  W 

litilhjiclieilodus,  S.  iSr.  W  .. 
llillhuicaitthiis,  8.  &  W  ... 

Cavcharopsia,  Ag 

Calopodus,  S.  &  \V 

Chohdua,  S.  &  W 

Chomalodus,  Ag 

Chitoundns,  S.  &  W 

Cladodtis,  Ag 

Covhliodtia,  Ag 

Cwloateus,  N 

Copodtm,  Ag 

Ctenacanlhun,  Ag 

Cicnopctafua,  Ag 

Ctenoptjjchiiis,  Ag 

Dactnlodim,  N.  &  W 

LeUodm,  N.  &.  W 

Dellodopsh,  S.  &  W 

DeltopljichiiiH,  Ag 

/)(«»!  iofJHS,  S.  &  W 

Drej)autwanthu8,  N.  &  W  . 

Eriemamnthiia,  McC 

Eunemacanthua,  S.  &  W  .. 

Fiaaodiia,  S.  &  W 

(lampaai-anHiHi,  S.  &  W  .. 
(rlymmataeanliiiis,  S.  &  W 

(lyracantlina,  Ag 

Hurpacodua,  Ag 

Helodua,  Ag 

Ifomacanthiia,  Ag 

Hyhocladodua,  S.  &  W 


No.  of 
opocieH, 


6 
4 
1 
I 

9 

6 
3 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

14 
4 

3.1 
8 
1 
? 

21 
7 
3 
(i 

16 
6 
5 
4 
4 
1 
1 
2 
3 
1 
1 
2 

17 
2 
5 


Qen'.ra. 


Lamhdodua,  8.  &  W  . . . . 

Leiodua,  S.  &  W 

Leptacanihua,  Ag 

lAagodua,  8.  &  W 

A/aracnn<AM8,  8.  &.  W  .. 
Meaodmodna,  8.  &  W  . . . 

Omcanthua,  Ag 

Orodua,  Ag 

Orihopleurodua,  S.  &  W 

l'ufii«^.'.'.»flu«,  Ag 

/•eJ(odM«,  X.  vt  IV 

I'elatodut,  Ag 

Peripleoirodua,  S.  &  W 

I'etalorhynchiu,  Ag 

Phahodiia,  8.  &  W 

Phjaonenms,  Ag 

Petrodua,  McC 

Platyodna,  N 

Pnigeacunthv-a,  8.  &  W  . 

Paammodua,  Ag 

Pristicladodua,  McC 

Polyrhhodua,  McC 

Pmcilodua,  Ag 

Priatodua,  Ag 

Paephodua,  Ag 

lihizodita,  Ag 

Sandahdiia,  N.  &  W.... 
Stenoplerodua,  S.  &  W  . . 

Slethacanthm,  N 

Stemmatodua,  8.  &  W . . , 

r(CHito(i«»,  S.  &,  W 

Toimo(?M«,  S.  &  W 

To»iorf«»,  8.  &  W , 

P'e(iM8(odi(ii,  8.  &  W 

Fa<ioi«od«8,  8.  &  W 

Xyalracanthna,  Lcidy... 
Xyatrodua,  Ag , 

Total 


No.  of 
specieH. 


8 
1 
» 
1 
3 
5 

20 
3 
1 
3 
4 
4 
4 
I 
7 
2 
1 
1 

17 
1 
8 
2 
1 
(> 
1 

10 
3 
2 
7 
3 
1 
1 
5 
6 
2 


■ 


M7 


Fishes  op  the  Lower  Carboniferous  Eocks  op  New  Brunswick. 
In  the  shales  associated  with  the  Albert  mine  at  Hillsborough,  New 
Brunswick,  an  interesting  group  of  Palseoniscoid  fishes  has  been  found. 


» JfP,-w»"W'.'."w  .w  WW 


FISHES  OF  THE  (JAKBONIFEKOCS  SYSTEM. 


187 


' 


Most  of  them  are  small,  with  highly  ornamented  scalos  and  head  plates,  hav- 
ing a  marked  resemblance  to  those  obtained  from  the  Lower  Carbonifer- 
ous shales  of  Burdie  House  and  Eskdale,  in  Scotland,  and  described  by 
Agussiz  and  Traquair.  They  have  all  been  included  in  the  old  genus 
J'alaoniscus,  but  in  the  subdivision  of  tiiat  genus  by  Dr.  Trmiiuiir  they  fall 
partly  into  the  genus  Bhadinichthys  and  partly  into  Elonkhthys.  The  follow- 
ing species  have  been  enumerated: 

Falmoniteui  Alberti,  3ao\'K>a. 
^o  "  Cairiwii,  JackHon.  ' 

"  TiroioMii,  Jackson.  ■ 

"  Jocfc«oiiH,  Dawson.  ,'  .  ^  , 

"  madulu»,  lliiwson. 

The  number  of  individuals  found  at  this  locality  is  enormous ;  the  sur- 
faces of  the  sha^e  being  sometimes  completely  covered  and  the  fishes  often 
overlying  each  other,  showing  that  they  were  literally  buried  in  heaps. 
They  were  probably  the  inhabitants  of  a  body  of  fresh  water,  and  were 
killed  simultaneously  by  thousands  in  some  general  catastrophe. 

Sir  William  Dawson  has  also  noticed'  some  remains  of  fishes  found  in 
the  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks  at  ITorton  Bluff,  New  Brunswick,  and  has 
described  a  species  of  BUzodus  {B.  Hardingi,  Daw.,)  and  one  of  Acrolepk 
{A.  Horfonensis,  Daw.). 

Ur.  Joseph  Leidy  has  described  and  figured"  a  number  of  fish  teeth  from 
the  Carboniferous  Jfoiestone  of  Illinois  and  Missouri ;  these  include  several 
species  of  Cochliodus,  whic\\  wotjJd  now  be  referred  to  DeUodus  and  Psephodm, 
and  one  species  of  " Ctenoptifchius,'''  wivkfi  ?.«»  a  Badylodus  reversed. 

William  McAdams,  of  Alton,  III.,  has  recei^tfy  sent  to  me  some  large 
fish  jaws  taken  from  the  Carboniferous  limestone  which  ave  unlike  any- 
thing before  found  in  our  Carboniferous  rocks.  They  include  jaws  of  a 
new  species  of  Bhizodus  resembling  B.  Uihberti  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous 
rocks  of  Scotland,  and  jaws,  teeth,  and  bones  of  another  large  Ganoid  allied 
to  BUzodus,  which  I  have  called  Ccclostcus  from  its  hollow  bones.  These 
will  be  found  described  below. 


'  Acadian  Geology,  p.  253,  et  »eq. 

« Trans.  Am.  PUilos.  Soc,  toI.  U,  1860,  p.  87. 


i 


188 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  ^'OKTll  AMElilCA. 


Order  CROSSOPTERYGIDiE. 
Ca^LOSTEUS,  nov.  gen. 

Fislies  of  large  size  iillieil  to  Dcmlrodus  uiid  Rhizodus.  Only  a  coracoid, 
mandible,  and  tooth  liave  yet  been  found,  but  those  certainly  represent  a 
fish  generically  different  from  any  before  met  with  on  this  eontinent.  The 
bones  are  peculiar  in  their  structure,  consisting  of  a  thin  she'l  of  dense 
osseous  tissue,  inclosing  large  cavities,  once  doubtless  filled  with  cartilage. 
In  this  respect  they  resemble  the  bones  of  DendmlHs  and  contrast  strongly 
with  those  of  Dinirhtlii/s  and  the  allied  genera  of  Placoderms,  TUanichthijs, 
.  etc.  In  Dinichthiis  the  coracoid  is  a  bono  nearly  as  large  as  one's  arm  and 
half  as  long,  comi)08ed  of  dense  bone-tissue  throughout.  The  correspond- 
ing bone  in  Calosteus  is  about  a  foot  in  length  and  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter  at  the  middle,  and  the  central  cavity  is  as  large,  relatively,  as  in 
the  long  bones  of  birds ;  the  shell  which  surrounded  it  being  but  from  one- 
eigli.h  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 

The  dentary  bone  is  about  one  foot  in  length,  two  and  one-half  inches 
wide  in  the  middle,  where  it  is  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  thickness,  and 
four  inches  wide  at  the  posterior  end,  where  it  was  doubtless  joined  to  the 
angular  and  articular  elements.     On  the  outside  the  posterioi-  half  is  exca- 
vated to  form  a  deep  sulcus  for  the  reception  of  the  motor  muscle,  which 
must  have  been  of  unusual  power.     On  the  inside  the  jaw  is  flattened  and 
gently  arched  downward  to  the  rounded  lower  edge.     The  upper  side  bears 
on  the  outside  a  subacute  toothless  ridge ;   within  and  below  this  is  a  wide 
shoulder  with  seven  broad  and  shallow  pits,  in  which  were  planted  the 
rounded  bases  of  large,  conical  teeth      This  is  a  structure  in  some  respects 
similar  to  that  of  the  mandible  of  Dcndrodus,  but  the  jaw  of  Cwlosfcus  is 
much  broader  ])ostenorly,  having  a  triangular  outline  like  that  of  Amia,  and 
has  as  its  most  striking  feature  the  deep  sulcus  to  Avhich  reference  has  been 
made  above.     The  exterior  surface  of  the  jaws  of  Dcndrodus  is  also  strongly 
tuberculated,  whereas  in  Ca-hsfens  it  is  smooth  or  coarsely  striated  longi- 
tr  dinally.     The  dentition,  too,  differs  in  a  marked  degree  from  that  of  Dcn- 
drodus, in  which  a  row  of  closely  set  teeth  of  small  size  crown  the  upper  and 


FISUKH  OF  HUE  CAUIJONIFKROUH  HYSTKM. 


m 


outer  mai-ffin  of  tlio  jaw,  and  tho  jfroat  tooth  plaiitotl  in  hIuiIIow  Hockota 
iiro  in  j»airH,  wliilo  in  CadoHtcus  tho  nmrginal  ridgo  is  without  tooth  and 
tho  «,'roat  hmiaries  sot  along  the  interior  shoulder  are  single  and  nearly 
equidistant. 

'Thu  ditForence  whicsh  tho  jaw  hefore  us  exhibits  from  that  of  lih'uotlua 
is  rttill  nioro  Htrouf^ly  marked,  though  there  is  a  similarity  of  plan  in  their 
construction.  'I'he  tooth  in  lihizodiis  form  two  rows,  as  in  Doidmhis,  and 
tho  largo  oties  which  compose  tho  inner  row  are  also  somotiuios  in  i)airs. 
Dr  Traipiair  iui.«  shown'  that  tho  jaws  of  lihizodns  are  sogmontod;  a  suture 
separating  tluit  part  which  bears  the  anterior  laniary  tooth  from  that  wiiich 
carries  the  second  ))air,  anil  this  from  the  others,  etc. 

The  teeth  of  Culosteus  are  strong,  conical,  straight,  acnte  and  smooth 
above,  plicated  below  ;  they  have  the  complicated  interior  structure  of  the 
teeth  of  Dendrodus,  but  differ  from  these  in  being  plicated  only  at  the  base. 
In  the  latter  character  they  agree  with  the  teeth  of  Ithizodits,  but  are  appar- 
ently less  compressed  and  straighter. 

Wo  have  found  as  yet  too  little  of  the  bony  structure  of  Cwlosteus  to 
warrant  any  positive  statements  in  reference  to  its  zoologiciil  affinities,  and 
yet  there  are  some  points  which  have  come  under  our  observation  which 
are  quite  remarkable,  and  such  as  suggest  further  examination  vvhou  more 
material  shall  be  obtained. 

The  hoUowness  of  the  bones  has  already  been  noticed  as  a  striking 
feature  in  their  structure,  and  it  may  also  be  said  tiiat  tho  bone  tissue  pre- 
sents a  granulated  appearance,  which  is  much  like  that  of  the  prismatic  carti- 
lage we  sometimes  find  representing  the  outlines  and  in  part  the  substance 
of  the  skull  and  jaws  of  certain  fossil  Elasmobranchs ;  e.  (/.,  Diplodtis  in  the 
Coal  Measures,  in  which  parts  of  the  skeleton  were  partially  ossified,  though 
the  tissue  retained  the  granular  structure  of  cartilage.  The  mode  of  attach- 
ment of  the  teeth  in  Cualosteus  is  also  peculiar  and  in  some  respects  shark- 
like. In  all  the  Elasmobranchs  the  bony  and  enameled  teeth  are  attached 
to  tho  jaws  by  ligaments  and  the  jaw  tissue  is  sometimes  molded  onto  the 
base  of  the  teeth,  giving  them  greater  firmness.  A  similar  mode  of  attach- 
ment of  the  teeth  obtained  in  Dendrodus  and  apparently  in  Rhizodus,  but  in 

'Auuals  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  April,  1877. 


m 


PALKOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOBTD  aMKRIOA. 


those  genera  the  socketa  wore  deeper  and  the  teeth  more  liniily  iixed  in 
them. 

In  Homo  respects,  therefore,  it  will  he  seen  that  CmhsteuH  is  allied  to  the 
Sharks,  and  it  is  possible  may  be  toiind  to  form  a  sort  of  conne(^ting  link 
between  thorn  and  the  Ganoids.  Of  this,  however,  better  proof  will  be 
needed  l)efore  it  can  be  made  the  basis  of  any  generalization.  We  fnid 
that  the  ossification  of  the  skeleton  varies  considerably  among  the  Elasmo- 
branchs,  and  the  most  natural  method  of  increasing  the  amount  of  bony 
tissue  in  the  skeleton  would  be  to  ossify  and  indurate  the  external  surface 
of  the  bones,  thus  giving  them  greater  strength  without  adding  greatly  to 
their  weight.  Possibly  we  have  in  Coelosteus  an  example  of  this  stage  of 
progress,  and  without  venturing  any  premature  conclusion  as  to  its  cause  or 
history,  I  doom  it  proper  to  call  attention  to  this  particular  structure,  hoping 
that  those  who  may  come  into  possession  of  more  and  better  material  may 
find  an  c^.planation  of  what  is  now  somewhat  enigmatical. 

Of  known  fossil  fishes  Cwlostcus  perhaps  comes  nearer  to  Pappichhjs 
Cope'  than  any  other.  Species  of  this  genus  have  been  described  by  Leidy, 
Marsh,  and  Cope.  They  occur  in  the  Eocene  rocks  of  the  interior  of  the 
continent,  and  have  been  regarded  as  closely  allied  to,  if  not  generically 
identical  with,  Amia.  Should  more  material  show  Coilostetis  to  be  really 
allied  to  Amia,  it  would  carry  back  the  line  of  descent  of  this  interesting 
Ganoid  much  farther  than  it  has  before  been  traced. 

C(EL08TEU8   FEROX,    n.   sp. 
Plate  XXXV,  Figs.  1-4. 

■  The  detailed  descriptions  of  the  few  remains  of  this  species  yet  found 
are  given  in  the  characters  of  the  genus  of  which  this  is  taken  as  the  type. 
The  specific  name  is  chosen  from  the  tnxly  formidable  character  of  the  den- 
tition. The  dentary  bone  was  very  thick  and  strong,  twelve  to  fifteen 
inches  in  length,  and  carried  seven  conical  teeth,  of  which  the  largest  were 
fully  eight  centimeters  in  length  by  fourteen  millimeters  in  diameter  at  the 
middle  and  two  centimeters  at  the  base.  Jaws  bristling  with  such  teeth 
and  moved  by  the  powe-ful  muscles  that  are  shown  to  have  been  attached 

'Geol.  Survey  Territories,  vol.  3,  book  1, 1884,  pi.  3,  p.  56. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CARBON1FEBOU8  SYSTEM. 


191 


to  tljotn  inurit  have  })oen  cnpablo  of  lacerating  mid  dcHtioyiiig  inoHt  of  the 
inhubit'UitH  of  the  Cai))oiiifeiou8  ocean.  Sharks  were  the  niont  ahnndant 
and  the  ni«»Ht  jiowerful  of  the  fishes  in  tliat  sea,  and  to  those  CnloNicus  must 
have  been  a  formidable  aiitaj^oniat. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  jaw  <lescribed  above  lias  lost  nil  of  its  t(M'th 
and  it  has  apparently  sufVered  lonj'  maceration.  The  treatment  to  which  it 
has  been  subjected  may  also  have  removed  from  it  more  than  the  large 
teeth,  <»f  '.Audi  the  sockets  yet  remain,  viz,  a  tul)ercnlated  surface  and  a 
row  of  small  teeth.  Were  these  present  it  would  come  near  to  Mkodus, 
but  the  jaw  of  a  well-marked  si)ecie8  of  that  genus  recently  discovered  by 
Mr.  McAdams  in  the  same  beds  shows  the  exterior  tuberculation,  the  row  of 
small  teeth  along  the  upper  margin,  and  the  great  laniary  teeth  still  in  posi- 
tion and  deeply  implanted  in  the  massive  dentary  bone. 

Rhizodus  ANCEPS,  n.  sp.  ■' 

riato  XLIII,  Fig.  1. 

Dentary  bone  one  foot  or  more  in  length,  massive  and  strong;  extenor 
snrface  coarsely  pitted  and  tul)ercled ;  upper  margin  set  with  numerous, 
closely  crowded,  conical,  acute,  robust,  striated  teeth  about  half  an  inch  in 
height,  and  with  three  or  more  laniary  comijressed,  ancipital,  enameled, 
polished  fangs,  plicated  at  the  base,  two  inches  or  more  in  '  ight,  by  nearly 
an  inch  in  breadth.  These  laniary  teeth  rise  from  a  shoulder  or  shelf  which 
runs  along  the  inner  aide  of  the  mandible^  and  are  deeply  rooted  in  its  sub- 
stance The  largest  is  set  at  or  near  the  symphysis,  where  the  mandible  is 
tumid  and  very  massive.  This  tooth  is  slightly  curved,  much  compressed, 
with  trenchant  edges ;  the  others  are  somewhat  smaller,  less  compressed, 
and  less  curved. 

Oidy  about  ten  inches  of  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  right  mandible 
of  this  fish  is  yet  known.  It  was  obtained  by  Mr.  William  McAdams  from 
the  Saint  Louis  limestone  at  Alton,  111.  It  is  considerably  mutilated,  but 
shows  two  laniary  teeth  in  position  and  the  impression  of  a  third.  The  sec- 
ond is  located  four  and  a  half  inches  behind  the  first,  the  third  three  inches 
behind  the  second.  As  the  jaw  is  seen  from  the  outside  the  total  length  of 
the  laniary  teeth  is  not  shown,  but  the  anterior  one  probably  projected  three 


i 

192 


PALEOZOIC  FlSIli:S  OF  NORTU  AMEIUCA. 


inches  or  wore  above  its  base,  where  it  was  fully  an  inch  in  width,  and  it 
was  deeply  implanted  in  the  dentary  bone.  The  summit  is  rounded,  evi- 
dently worn  by  use,  but  was  probably  once  acute.  It  resembles  closely 
the  corresponding  tooth  of  RhboJus  JItbberti,  from  the  Carboniferous  rocks 
of  Scotland,  but  is  more  compressed,  the  margins  being  slightly  excavated 
to  render  the  edges  thin  and  trenchant,  so  that  the  section  is  not  perfectly 
lenticular,  as  is  the  case  with  the  laniary  teeth  of  the  Scotch  species. 

TJie  jaw  before  us  shov.  s  nothing  of  the  segmented  condition-  which 
L»r.  Traquair  claims'  is  a  marked  cluiractf  r  of  Rhizodm  and  Ilhizodopsis, 
but  this  feature  vould  i)robably  not  be  visible  unless  the  jaw  were  seen 
from  the  inside.  The  general  aspect  of  our  specimen  is  such,  however,  that 
I  cannot  doubt  it  represents  a  species  of  Bhizodtis  and  one  very  closely 
allied  to  that  which  is  figured  in  most  text-books  on  geology.  It  is  also 
of  special  interest  as  affording  the  first  positive  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
this  great  sauroid  fisli  in  the  waters  of  North  America  during  the  Carbonif- 
erous age.  The  scales  and  teeth  from  the  Coal  Measures,  to  which  I  have 
given  the  names  of  R.  qnadrahis,  R.  occidenMis,  R.  lancifer,  and  R  angiistus, 
are  only  provisionally  and  doubtfully  referred  to  this  genus.  We  may  be 
almost  certain,  indeed,  that  they  should  not  be  associated  generically  with 
the  great  Lower  Carboniferous  fish  {R.  Tf'hberti),  which  has  been  made  the 
type  of  ilie  genus.  The  specimen  now  ander  consideration  is,  however,  so 
much  lii.o  those  from  Scotland,  that  it  is  even  a  question  whether  it  should  be 
regarded  as  specifically  distinct.  If  this  specimen  had  been  obtained  from 
tlie  British  Islands  probably  no  one  would  hesitate  to  identify  it  with  R. 
Hihhcrti,  but  on  comparing  the  great  anterior  laniary  with  a  number  of  fine 
teeth  which  I  have  from  Scotland,  I  find  that  it  is  more  compressed  than  any 
of  them,  and  is  distinguished  by  the  broad,  shallow  sulcus  which  borders 
the  margin,  making  the  slopes  from  the  center  to  the  edges  concave.  This 
:::,  ^  device  conspicuous  in  the  spines  of  Mackceracanthiis,  and  one  of  which 
we  make  us3  in  the  construction  of  bayonets  and  some  o^  our  razors.  Hence 
it  has  seemed  to  me  best  to  consider  it  a  new  species. 

In  the  description  of  Ccelosteus  ferox,  given  on  another  page  of  this 
memoir,  I  have  alluded  to  its  affinities  with  RUzodus,  and  I  have  hesitated 

'Annals  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  April,  1877,  p.  999. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONINEllOUS  SYSTEM. 


193 


oomewhat  in  pronouncing  the  late  discovery  of  Mr.  McAdains  distinct  from 
the  one  which  lie  formerly  made  in  the  same  quarries  at  Alton.  That  is, 
I  have  thought  it  possible  that  the  jaw  of  Cmlosteus  might  have  belonged  to 
the  same  fish,  but  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  Ccelostctis  the  pits  which  mark 
the  positions  of  the  great  laniary  teeth  are  almost  equally  spaced  and  are 
closely  approximated ;  furthermore,  in  Ccelostem  there  is  no  indication  that 
the  mandible  was  segmented ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  evidently  solid  through- 
out. In  liliizodun,  on  the  other  nand,  the  laniary  teeth  are  irregularly  spaced, 
few  in  number,  and  remote  from  eacli  other ;  characters  conspicuous  in  the 
jaw  now  described,  but  wantin*''  in  that  to  which  the  name  Cwlonteus  was 
given. 

Again  we  have  in  Ca'lostem  no  indication  of  the  pitting  and  tubercula- 
tion  of  the  external  surface  so  conspicuous  in  Uhkodus,  and  the  anterior 
extremity  of  the  dentary  bone  is  not  tumid.  Hence,  with  the  mate»-ial  now 
before  me,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  jaws  obtained  by  Mr.  McAdams 
belong  to  two  allied  but  distinct  fishes. 

It  is  probable  that  the  discovery  of  these  curious  remains  by  Mr. 
McAdams  will  stimulate  further  and  careful  search  for  other  traces  of  the 
gro>H  fishes  they  represent,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  nuiterial  will  be  ob- 
tained sooner  or  later  w?  ich  will  clear  up  all  questions  in  regard  to  their 
structure  and  relations. 

The  Saint  Louis  limestone  is  exposed  at  a  great  number  of  localities  in 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri ;  and  at  Greencastle,  Alton,  Saint  Louis,  and 
other  places  it  has  yielded  a  large  number  of  fish  remains,  and  it  has  there- 
fore been  already  somewhat  carefully  exploited,  but  no  trace  of  the  great 
fishes  now  described,  not  even  of  any  Ganoid,  were  obtained  from  it  up  to 
the  time  when  Mr.  McAdams  discovered  the  jaw  of  Cwlostem.  "We  may 
therefore  infer  that  these  fishes  were  not  numerous  in  the  Carboniferous 
seas,  and  many  years  may  elaj)se  before  we  shall  get  a  more  complete 
record  of  their  lives. 

In  the  splendid  collections  of  fish  remains  mude  from  the  Mountain 
limestone  by  Professor  Worihen,  Mr.  Van  Home,  Mr.  St.  John,  and  others, 
so  fully  illustrated  in  the  reports  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  it  will 
be  noticed  that  no  traces  of  Ganoids  appear,  while  the  teeth  and  spines  of 


MON   XVI- 


-13 


194 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOETH  AMERICA. 


Sharks  are  so  numerous  as  to  show  that  Elasmobranch  fishes  were  much 
more  abundant  in  the  Carboniferous  sea  than  in  those  of  the  present  or  any 
other  geologic  age.  The  exception  to  the  rule  of  the  domination  of  the 
Sharks  offered  by  the  Ganoids  discovered  by  Mr.  McAdams  is  tlierefore  of 
special  interest,  and  we  can  see  in  the  evidence  furnished  by  their  jaws  and 
teeth  that  they  were  quite  capable  of  contending  successfully  against  any 
of  their  Elasmobranch  antagonists;  indeed,  none  of  the  Sharks  yet  known 
to  us  as  inhabitants  of  the  Carboniferous  sea  were  provided  with  a  dental 
armament  as  fon)iidable  as  that  of  Ccelosteus  or  lihisodiis.  The  largest 
of  the  Carboniferous  P^lasmobranchs,  Archccohatis  gigas,  Oroilus  ramosus, 
Psammodus  grandis,  and  P.  plenus,  had  crushing  teeth,  and  doubtless  lived 
upon  mollusks,  ci'ustaceans,  and  crinoids,  while  the  «pecies  with  cutting  and 
piercing  teeth,  Petalodus  and  Cladodus,  were  much  less  formidably  armed 
than  RMzodus. 

In  the  fish  fauna  of  the  Devonian  age  the  great  Crossopterygian  scaled 
Ganoid  Ongchodiis  stood  out  in  strong  contrast  to  the  number  of  large  and 
small  Placoderras  with  which  it  was  associated,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  in  the  Carboniferous  sea  another  large  and  formidable  Crossopterygian, 
RMzodus,  contrasts  equally  with  the  crowd  of  Elasmobranchs.  We  may 
even  suspect  that  in  each  case  the  Ganoid  was  the  most  formidable,  since 
with  very  powerful  dental  weapons  he  must  have  had  a  flexible  scaled  body 
that  would  allow  of  greater  celerity,  and  while  Onychodus  would  have  been 
no  match  for  Dinickthys  if  once  within  the  gi-asp  of  its  massive  jaws,  it 
could  easily  avoid  them,  and  with  its  projecting  intermandibular  teeth 
two  or  three  inches  in  length  could  have  lacerated  the  exposed  portions 
of  the  body  quite  at  his  leisure.  So  RMzodus,  with  a  gape  of  perhaps  two 
feet,  and  jaws  set  with  laniary  teeth  three  or  four  inches  in  length,  if  he 
had  the  address  to  avoid  the  formidable  dorsal  and  pectoral  spines  of 
the  Sharks,  would  have  found  their  shagreen-covered  bodies  easily  pene- 
trable. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


195 


Order   ELASMOBRANCHII, 

Genus  PliYSONEMUS. 

The  genus  Phjsonemus  wus  named  (thougl.  never  described)  by  Prof. 

L.  Agassiz  in  1837/  but  the  spines  to  wlnrh  the  name  was  applied  were 

well  known,  so  it  was  recognized  and  a  generic  description  given  by  McCoy.^ 

He  also  described  two  species,  one,  that  which  had  suggested  the  generic 

name  to  Agassiz  i^Ph.  suUeres),  and  a  new  one,  which  ho  called  1%  arcmtus 

Another  spine,  named  and  described  by  Agassiz^-  as  Onchus  hamatus,  having 

the  strong  curvature  oWhijsoncmu.,  has  been  referred  to  that  genus  by  Mr. 

J.  W.  Davis.^     He  has  also  added  another  species  to  the  list,  {Ph.  attrnuatus  ) 

which,  though  having  the  strongly  recurved  form  of  the  typo  species  of  the 

genus,  18  too   imperfectly  preserved  to  admit  of  any    positive    assertion 

as  to  Its  generic  relations.     From  the  peculiar  form  of  the  base,  indeed  it 

seems  more  probable  that  this  is  but  one  branch  of  the  forked  spine  of 

Cladacanthus,  Ag 

In  all  that  has  been  written  by  Europeans  on  the  spines  ofPhysonemus  it 
has  been  supposed  that  they  were  set  on  the  dorsal  line,  with  a  very  strong 
backward  curvature;  but  in  a  description  oi  Physonemus gigas'  I  have  called 
attention  to  the  characters  which  indicate  that  this  spine,  as  well  as  the  one 
described  by  McCoy,  was  curved  forward  instead  of  being  straight  or  curved 
backward,  like  most  of  the  dorsal  spines  of  Elasmobranch  fishes ;  supposing 
the  line  of  large,  stellate  tubercles  set  along  the  concave  border,  as  well  as 
the  direction  of  the  oblique  line  joining  the  plain  and  ornamented  surfaces, 
to  indicate  that  the  curved  border  was  anterior.     These  characters  are 
shared  by  the  spines  upon  which  I  have  based  the  description  oi  Drepana- 
canthus,'^  illustrated  in  the  figures  of  D.  gemmatus.'    It  is  therefore  not  certain 
that  these  last-mentioned  spines  and  Physonemus  arcmtus,  McCoy,"  should  not 
be  united  under  the  same  generic  name;  but  a  comparison  of  specimens 
will  alone  suffice  for  deciding  this  question. 


'Poissoiis  Fossiles,  etc.,  vol.  3,  p.  176. 
« Brit.  Pal.  Fossils,  p.  6:W. 
'Poissoim  Fossiles,  etc.,  vol.  3,  p.  9,  pi.  1, 
<Moii.  Fossil  Fishes  Carboniferous  Lime- 
stone series  Great  Brit.,  p.  370. 


"Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  4,  p,  373, 
"Ibid.,  vol.  a,  p.  120. 
s.  7,  8.         'Ibid.,  p,  123. 

«Ibid..  vol.  4,  p.  373,  pi.  2,  fig.  17. 


i 


REl 


196 


PALEOZOIC  WISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Another,  and  in  some  respects  very  different,  kind  of  Elasmobranch 
spine,  represented  by  several  species,  luis  been  described  by  Mr.  Orestes 
St.  John  under  the  name  of  I'hysoncmus}  These  are  relatively  broad  and 
strong-  spines,  sometimes  ten  or  twelve  inches  long,  the  broadly  conical 
sunmiit  alone  being  solid,  the  middle  and  lower  portions  of  the  convex  bor- 
der being  opened  by  a  deep  furrow,  on  either  side  of  which  the  margins 
thin  to  feather-edges ;  the  sides  and  concave  border  are  comparatively 
smooth  and  without  ornamentation  of  any  kind.  About  one-third  of  the 
length  from  the  basal  extremity  the  concave  margin  is  raised  and  expanded 
to  form  a  marked,  sometimes  swollen  and  overhanging  shoulder,  which  in 
greater  or  less  develoi^ment  is  a  conspicuous  character  in  all  the  species. 
In  the  numerous  and  carefully  drawn  figures^  the  aspect  and  structure  of 
this  singular  group  of  spines  are  well  represented.  It  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  these  figures  and  the  accompanying  descriptions  that  the  exterior 
surface  is  represented  as  plain,  and  it  is  supposed  by  Mr.  St.  John  that  it 
was  once  covered  with  enameled  tubercles,  which  have  all  been  removed. 

I  have  recently  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  about  fifty  spines  col- 
lected by  Dr.  W.  Clark  from  the  Berea  grit,  the  central  member  of  the 
Waverly  group  (Lower  Carboniferous),  at  Berea,  Ohio,  which  throw  new 
light  upon  the  structui'e  and  position  of  this  group  of  defenses.  These  spines 
apparently  all  belong  to  one  species,  which  closely  resembles  Physonemtis 
Altoncnsis,^  St.  J.  &  W.,  attaining  about  the  same  size,  viz,  from  six  to  ten 
inches  in  length ;  the  only  marked  difference  between  the  spines  obtained 
from  Berea  and  those  from  Alton  being  that  in  the  most  complete  Berea 
specimens  the  shoulder  on  the  concave  margin  is  much  thicker  and  broader 
and  is  somewhat  bilobed.  All  these  specimens  possess,  however,  some  feat- 
ures which  either  are  not  present  in  those  from  the  Carboniferous  limestone 
of  Illinois  or  have  been  overlooked  by  Mr.  St.  John,  viz :  (1)  they  are  all  un- 
Bymmetrical,  the  deep  sulcus  of  the  convex  side  is  not  central,  one  of  its 
walls  being  thicker  and  broader  than  the  other;  (2)  they  are  rights  and  lefts; 
in  a  large  number  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  may  be  somewhat  equally 
dividPu  into  pairs.  This  means  that  they  did  not  belong  to  the  dorsal  but 
to  ihe  paired  fins,  the  pectorals  or  ventrals ;  it  is  impossible  to  assert  posi- 

'  Oeol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  0, )).  448  et  uq.      'Ibid.,  vol.  6,  pis.  18,  19.      » Ibiil.,  p.  454,  pi.  19,  figs.  1-3. 


FISHES  OF  TDE  OAltBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


J  97 


tively  to  which  of  these,  but  since  we  have  several  examples  of  pectoral 
spines  among  the  ancient  sharks  (Gyracanihtis  and  Mucharacanthus)  and 
innumerable  examples  among  living  fishes,  while  ventral  spines  are  almost 
unknown,  we  may  infer  that  they  were  pectoral  spines. 

All  tlie  specimens  referred  to  were  obtained  by  Dr.  Clark  from  a  pyri- 
tou8  layer  resting  upon  the  Berea  grit,  where  they  are  often  replaced  by 
pyrite,  and  for  the  most  part  imperfectly  preserved.  One  specimen,  how- 
ever, found  in  the  fine  argillaceous  shale  which  overlies  the  Berea  grit, 
gives  the  complete  outline  of  the  spine,  and  what  is  of  special  interest,  the 
fin  that  was  attached  to  it  is  represented  by  numerous  well-preserved  rays 
lying  closely  approximated  in  their  natural  positions.  The  spine,  which 
here  has  its  complete  form,  has  evidently  suffered  no  abrasion,  as  is  proved 
by  the  preservation  of  the  fin  itself;  and  as  it  is  without  ornamentation,  we 
are  compelled  to  believe  that  it  never  bore  any  tubercles.  The  base  shows 
the  outline  of  what  seems  to  be  a  spheroidal  head  that  fitted  into  the  socket 
of  an  articulation.  I'he  fin  ra)'3  are  apparently  jointed  towards  the  base, 
dividing  above  into  thread  lines,  which  must  have  been  at  least  partially 
ossified,  since  many  of  them  are  continuous  to  their  extremities,  which  form 
a  curve  that  must  be  nearly  the  outline  of  the  fin. 

In  i\\Q  associated  beds  of  the  Waverly  group,  as. well  as  in  tlu  Berea 
grit,  a  large  number  of  dorsal  spines  have  been  found,  among  which  are 
three  species  of  Cienarantlms,  and  with  these  in  several  instances  rays,  that 
probably  belonged  to  the  dorsal  fins  of  which  the  spines  formed  the  de- 
fenses. These  fin  rays  jire  six  to  eight  inches  in  length  by  a  quarter  of  an 
iach  in  diameter  at  the  base,  tapering  to  an  acute  point;  they  are  smootli 
and  without  articulation,  but  that  they  were  at  least  partly  osseous  is  proved 
by  the  perfection  of  their  preservation. 

At  Vanceburgh,  Ky.,  in  a  black  shale  of  the  Waverly  group,  among 
many  other  fish  remains  described  in  the  PaLneontology  of  Ohio,  the  tail  of 
a  large  shark  was  found  in  which  tiie  fin  rays  of  the  lower  lobe  were  dis- 
tinctly preserved  and  had  evidently  been  ossified.  This  specimen  is  now 
in  the  State  Museum  at  P'rankfort,  Ky. 

From  the  above  description  of  the  group  of  spines  typified  by  Physone- 
mus  AUonensis,  St.  J.  &  W.,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  are  so  different  from 


It 


<"WT!>'« 


198 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I 


the  type  species  of  Physonemus  (Ph  arcmttis,  McCoy),  that  they  should  not 
be  included  in  the  same  genus.  I  would  therefore  propose  for  the  former 
a  new  generic  name  and  briefly  defi,ie  it  as  follows : 

STETHACANTHUS,  nov.  gen. 

Pectoral  spines  of  medium  or  large  size,  unsymmetrical  (rights  and 
lefts),  broadly  felcate  in  outline,  the  conical  summit  compressed,  with  ante- 
rior and  posterior  margins  rounded.  Below  the  solid  summit  the  posterior 
margin  is  opened  by  a  deep  sulcus,  of  which  the  walls,  of  unequal  thickness, 
terminate  posteriorly  in  thin  and  fragile  edges;  anterior  border  gently  con- 
cave, about  one-third  its  length  from  the  base  rising  into  a  strong,  often 
tumid,  shoulder;  basal  portion  narrow  and  compressed,  terminating  in  a  car- 
tilaginous condyle  for  articulation.  In  life  the  posterior  sulcus  was  occu- 
pied by  the  base  of  the  pectoral  fin.    Type  species  St.  Altonensis,  St.  J.  & 

W.,  sp. 

For  the  species  found  at  Berea,  Ohio,  I  propose  the  name  Stethacanthus 
hmidus;  giving  as  its  specific  characters  those  of  the  genus  with  the  follow- 
ing additions :  Spine  large,  massive,  laterally  compressed,  upper  half  trian- 
gular in  outline,  anterior  shoulder  broad,  tumid,  overhanging,  and  some- 
what bilobed. 

Since  the  above  notes  were  written  I  have  received  from  Alton,  111.,  a 
number  of  specimens  of  Stethacanthus  Altonensis  which  show  the  want  of  sym- 
metry noticed  in  those  from  Berea.  One  of  these  specimens  is  of  extraor- 
dinary size  and  of  unusual  breadth,  so  I  have  thought  best  to  give  figures  of 
both  sides  of  it  in  order  to  show  with  its  dimensions  the  want  of  symmetry, 
one  of  the  sides  being  as  usual  considerably  shorter  than  the  other.^ 

Labodus  marqinatus,  n.  sp. 

Plate  XIX,  Fig.  9. 

The  little  tooth  represented  by  the  figure  cited  above  is  one  of  several 
received  from  Greencastle,  Ind.,  where  they  were  obtained  from  the  Saint 
Louis  limestone.  They  evidently  belong  to  a  group  of  palate  teeth  of  which 
many  have  been  found  in  the  Lower  Carboniferous  limestone  at  Armagh, 

I  See  pi.  XXIV,  figs,  t,  2. 


i 


FISHES  OF  THE  OAKBONlrEROIIS  SYSTEM. 


199 


Ireland,  and  which  were  named  by  Agasslz,  Lahodus,  Cojwdus,  CJiaracodits, 
etc.  Simihir  teeth  occur  in  the  Chester  and  Saint  Louis  limestones  in  Illi- 
nois and  Missouri,  and  some  of  these  have  been  described  ])y  8t,  John  and 
Worthen  as  species  of  Copodus.  All  of  these  consist  of  oval,  rounded,  or 
quadrangular  dental  plates  of  small  size,  arched  forn),  and  polished,  pitted, 
enamel  surface.  Since  there  is  no  evidence  of  co  adaptation  with  other  teeth 
at  the  sides,  it  has  been  thought  that  they  formed  a  single  series  of  three  or 
more,  which  were  placed  in  the  central  part  of  the  mouth  above  and  below 
and  had  the  functions  of  the  teeth  of  2EtobaHs,  Myliobutis,  etc. 

The  teeth  belonging  to  this  group  were  named  but  never  described  by 
Agassi.'?  His  work  has  been  supplemented  by  Morris,  McCoy,  and  J.  W. 
Davis,  who  have  endeavored  to  perpetuate  Agassiz's  names  and  classifica- 
tion. Without  moi'e  material  in  our  hands  it  would  be  presumptuous  to 
attempt  a  review  of  the  work  of  those  who  have  endeavored  to  distribute 
these  peculiar  fish  teeth  into  generic  groups,  as  it  is  evident  that  the  dis- 
tinctions between  Agassiz's  genera  are  not  strongly  marked.  It  is  impossi- 
ble for  us  with  certainty  to  refer  the  specimens  we  find  to  one  or  another 
of  several  genera,  and  if  we  may  judge  from  the  illustrations  given  by  Mr. 
J.  W.  Davis  in  his  Fossil  Fishes  of  the  Cai-boniferous  Limestone,  it  would 
seem  that  some  of  these  genera  should  be  united.  I  am  strengthened  in  this 
conclusion  by  an  examination  made  some  years  ago,  through  the  courtesy 
of  Professor  Agassiz,  of  the  large  collection  of  fish  remains  which  he  had 
brought  to  this  country  from  Armagh.  These  were  generally  named  by 
him,  and  of  some  of  his  species  specimens  are  before  me  as  I  write.  Among 
these  is  a  fish  tooth  which  beai's  the  name  of  Characodus.  This  is  so  like 
the  one  nov  figured  that  I  must  think  them  generically  identical ;  but  the 
genus  Characodus,  Ag.,  as  defined  and  illustrated  by  Mr.  Davis,  is  consider- 
ably different,  the  teeth  being  much  longer  transversely  and  with  salient 
cornua.  If  we  are  to  consider  Mr.  Davis's  descriptions  and  illustrations  as 
an  authoritative  supplement  to  Agassiz's  work,  then  the  tooth  now  figured 
should  rather  be  considered  a  species  of  Lahodus.  So,  for  want  of  good  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary,  I  place  it  there  provisionally,  but  record  its  diff'erences 
from  any  other  known  species  by  giving  it  the  name  marginatus ;  the  crown 
sui-face  being  bordered  on  three  sides  by  a  distinct  uiarginal  band. 


I- 


200 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


PhYSONEMUS   STKLLATU8,  n.  Sp. 
Plate  XXI,  Fig.  12, 

Spine  relatively  small,  much  compressed,  broad  at  the  base,  rapidly 
narrowing  to  the  summit,  which  is  strongly  recurved ;  posterior  margin 
formed  by  extensions  of  the  sides  until  they  become  extremely  thin  and 
widely  separated  by  the  vjontinuous  posterior  fnrrow ;  sides  above  tha  un- 
ornamented  base  covered  with  lines  of  numerous,  small,  stellate,  enameled 
tubercles,  which  on  one  side  reach  quite  to  the  margin,  on  the  other  fade 
out  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance  from  the  anterior  margin  to  the  posterior 
furrow  ;  thus  showing  a  want  of  symmetry. 

In  general  aspect  this  spine  is  somewhat  like  Ph.  arcuatus,  McCoy,'  but 
is  much  broader  and  more  compressed,  and  the  ornamentation  of  the  upper 
portion  consists  entirely  of  rows  of  distinctly  separated  stellate  tubercles, 
rather  than  of  pectinated  ridges,  as  is  the  case  with  McCoy's  species.  The 
most  striking  features  in  the  fossil  before  us  are  the  compressed  form  and 
the  great  breadth  of  base,  by  which  it  may  be  at  once  distinguished  from 
all  other      scribed  species. 

Formation  and  locality  :  Saint  Louis  limestone ;  Greencastle,  Ind. 

Obthopleueodus  caebonarius,  N.  &  W.,  sp, 

Plate  XIX,  Fig.  17. 

I  have  received  from  Mr.  Alexander  Butters,  of  Carlinville,  111.,  a  com- 
plete posterior  tooth  of  this  species,  which  has  seemed  worthy  of  representa- 
tion. It  shows  a  beautifully  punctate  crown  surface,  having  quite  the  form 
of  those  from  which  the  original  description  was  drawn,  surrounded  by  a 
broad  margin  which  was  evidently  overlapped  by  the  integument.  This 
specimen  is  comparatively  thin,  and  the  enamel  crown  has  been  indented 
probably  in  fossilization,  proving  that  the  base  was  soft,  perhaps  in  part 
cartilaginous.  The  type  specimens  show  only  the  crown,  and  are  much 
thicker  as  well  as  larger.  If  to  these  were  added  broad,  rough  margins, 
such  as  are  seen  in  the  figure  now  given,  we  should  have  teeth  two  to  three 
inches  long  and  fully  an  inch  in  width  at  the  widest  part. 

'  Brit.  PalTFoBsils,  1854,  p.  6.38,  pi.  31,  fig.  29. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CAltBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


201 


Ctenacantiiiis  Littoni,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XXV,  Fig.  3. 

Spines  twelve  to  fifteen  inclies  in  length  by  three  centimeters  in  width 
at  the  base  of  the  ornamentation ;  form  nearly  straight,  with  a  slight  back- 
ward curvature ;  laterally  (compressed ;  section  elliptical ;  anterior  nmrgin 
rounded,  pc  erior  somewhat  flattened;  ornamented  portion  occuj»od  by 
many  relatively  narrow,  closely  crowded,  longitudinal  ridges,  of  which  those 
on  the  anterior  margin  are  broadest ;  on  these  are  closely  set,  prominent, 
transverse,  vertically  compressed,  lenticular,  enameled  tubercles ;  unorna- 
mented  base  very  long,  extending  four  inches  or  more  beyond  the  lowest 
point  of  the  enameled  surface,  outline  conical,  pointed,  surface  smooth  or 
finely  striated  longitudinally  ;  sides  flattened  ;  posterior  margin  open  to  tip. 
Above  the  base  the  posterior  opening  is  nan-ow  and  reaches  to  the  middle 
of  the  spine. 

Only  fragments  of  this  remarkable  spine  have  yet  been  obtained.  A 
complete  base  with  a  small  portion  of  the  enameled  surface  is  shown  in 
Fig.  3,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  base  is  of  remarkable  length  and  smooth- 
ness. The  ornamentation  h  crowded,  as  regards  both  the  cost.t;  and  the 
tubercles;  both  are  contiguous,  with  no  open  space  between  them;  the  tu- 
bercles are  transversely  lenticular,  much  broader  than  high,  smooth  and 
polished.  They  are  sufficiently  prominent  to  give  a  rasp-like  roughness  to 
the  surface. 

The  summit  of  the  spine  is  yet  unknown,  and  nothing  can  now  be  said 
in  reference  to  the  posterior  armature. 

Comparing  this  with  other  spines  of  the  genus  it  will  be  seen  to  be 
quite  distinct  from  any  heretofore  described.  The  form  must  have  been  un- 
usually graceful,  and  the  ornamentation  is  more  elaborate  than  in  any  other 
species  known  to  me.  The  tuberculation  of  the  surface  is  different  from  the 
ordinary  pectination  formed  by  transverse,  sheath-like  ridges  on  the  costje, 
but  consists  of  distinct,  bead-like  tubercles  closely  set  along  the  ridges,  and 
from  their  prominence  and  distinctness  liable  to  be  broken  off",  leaving  a 
series  of  flattened  spaces  upon  which  they  rested.     This  ornamentation  is 


s. 


I 

4 


202  PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 

considenibly  like  that  of  67.  Harrisoni,'  St.  J.  &  W.,  but  k  much  more 
crowded  and  the  form  of  the  npino  is  narrower  ami  strai<?hter. 

Formation  ami  localitjf:  Saint  Louis  limestone;  Saint  Louis,  Mo.  Col- 
lected by  I'rof.  A.  Litton,  who  has  contributed  many  now  things  from  this 
geologic  horizon  and  locality,  and  to  whom  it  is  dedicated. 

Ctenacanthus  cylindicus,  n.  sp. 
Plato  XXVI,  Fig.  1. 

Spines  straight  or  slightly  curved,  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  in  length, 
broadly  arched  or  crescent-shaped  below,  nearl)'  cylindrical  from  the  nnd- 
dle  upward:  medullary  cavity  large,  open  posteriorly  above  the  middle; 
posterior  face  traversed  by  a  very  strong  arched  ridge;  line  separating 
plain  from  ornamented  surfaces  very  obli(jue;  all  exposed  surface  occupied 
with  enameled  ridges,  which  are  coarsest  along  the  anterior  face,  where  they 
frequently  fork;  near  the  ]iosterior  margin  they  are  finer  and  more  continu- 
ous; the  ])ectination,  which  is  general,  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
sides  of  the  ridges,  the  sunmnt  of  each  ridge  being  nearly  smooth,  the  sides 
strongly  denticulated ;  near  the  posterior  margin  the  narrower  ridges  are 
slightly  knobbed  or  beaded,  as  in  many  other  species. 

The  most  striking  peculiarities  of  this  strongly  marked  spine  is  its 
elongated  and  cylindrical  form,  and  the  coarse,  dichotomous  ridges,  smooth 
on  the  top  and  denticulated  on  the  sides.  The  specimens  I  have  are  incom- 
plete, and  show  no  denticulation  of  the  posterior  surface.  This  was  probably 
present,  however,  near  the  summit.  Another  specimen  than  that  which  has 
formed  the  basis  of  the  above  description  indicates  a  shorter  and  straighter 
spine,  in  which  the  ornamentation,  though  of  the  same  peculiar  character, 
is  more  sparse  and  open,  and  I  have  suspected  that  this  was  a  posterior 
dorsal  spine.  Numerous  dermal  tubercles  which  occur  with  these  spines 
indicate  that  the  shark  which  bore  them  was  protected  by  a  coarse  shagreen 
of  which  the  individual  tubercles  were  ornamented  with  concentric  lines. 

Formation  and  localHy :  Keokuk  shale ;  Casey  County,  Ky.     Collected 
liv  Mr.  William  M.  Linney. 

1  Geol.  Survey  lUinoU,  vol.  7,  1883,  p.  236.  pi.  23,  fig.  1. 


i 


FiaUES  OP  THE  CAUBONIFEHOUS  SYSTEM. 


203 


-^ 


ITarpacanthus  FijfnRiATUH,  Stock.,  sp, 
I'liito  XXI,  FiK8.  11,  11". 

r  Imvo  recently  received  from  Hon.  Williiini  MeAdnms,  of  Alton,  III., 
i\  small  Hpino  which  is  represented  by  the  fi}?nre  (11)  now  j^ivon.  It  was 
taken  from  the  Saint  liouis  beds  of  the  Lower  Carboniferons  limestone  near 
Alton.  It  is  injperfeci,  but  as  it  is  new  to  our  fauna,  and  is  apparenVh- 
identical  with  a  8i)ino  recently  described  from  the  Lower  Carboniferous 
limestone  of  Scotland,  I  have  considered  it  worthy  of  notice. 

Two  specimens  only  of  the  species  have  been  known  hitherto ;  they " 
were  both  found  at  Gilmerton,  near  p]dinburgh,  Scotland.  The  first  was 
described  by  Mr.  Thomas  Stock  in  a  paper  "On  the  Structure  and  Affinities 
of  Tristychius,"^  and  was  referred  to  that  genus  with  the  name  Trisii/chius 
fimhriatus.  The  second  specimen  was  found  at  the  same  locality  three  years 
later,  and  was  made  the  subject  of  a  paper  on  ^^Ilarpacnnthus,  a  new  genus 
of  Carboniferous  Selachian  Spines,"  by  Dr.  R.  II.  Tratiuair,  F.  R.  S.'^  From 
a  study  of  the  second  specimen  found,  which  was  more  complete  than  the 
first,  Dr.  Traquair  showed  that  it  could  not  bo  included  in  Tristi/chius, 
which  has  a  compressed  and  striated  shaft  with  two  roi/s  of  denticles  on  the 
posterior  margin,  while  the  spine  described  by  Mr.  Stock  has  a  smooth  and 
polished  surface,  a  circular  section  below,  and  a  single  row  of  relatively 
large  denticles  set  along  the  posterior  margin  near  the  summit.  lie  there- 
fore made  it  the  type  of  a  new  genus,  which  he  called,  from  its  curved  out- 
line, Ifarpacftntlms,  or  sickle  spine.  Tiie  base  is  recurved  and  terminates  in 
an  expanded  and  club-shaped  extremity ;  the  entire  length  is  about  two 
inches. 

Our  specimen  lacks  both  base  and  summit,  and  yet  it  reproduces  the  pe- 
culiarities of  the  central  portion  of  the  Scotch  specimens  so  exactly,  that  I  am 
compelled  to  regard  it  as  .specifically  identical  with  them.  Where  fractured 
below  our  spine  is  cylindrical,  has  a  smooth  and  polished  surface,  with  a 
central  cavity  which  reaches  nearly  to  the  summit.  The  upper  portion 
seems  to  have  been  somewhat  compressed  and  the  sides  excavated  in  a  broad 
shallow  furrow. 


'Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History  (5)  XII,  pp.  177-190,  pi.  7. 
'Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History  for  Dcoomber,  1886. 


IMlJJ..l.»,»4J-'-«  ^1?- 


204 


rALEOZOI(3  PISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Ono  marked  foiituio  In  tluB  and  tlio  Scotch  Hpeclnioiis  is  a  peculiar 
prominence  or  flattened  knob  on  the  poHterior  niar{,nn  considerably  below 
the  teeth.  In  its  circular  section,  its  central  pulp  cavity,  its  smooth  and 
polished  surface,  and  single  row  of  relatively  larj^e  recurved  denticles,  this 
spine  resembles  Compsaidnthus  hvvis,  N.,  from  the  Coal  Measures  of  Linton, 
Ohio,'  and  it  is  possible  they  should  bo  included  in  the  sanui  {jonus. 

To  permit  comparition  between  the  American  and  Scotch  specimens  I 
give  herewith  (PI.  XXI,  Fig.  11")  a  copy  of  Dr.  Traquair's  drawing  of  the 
spine  lately  found  in  Scotland. 

SaNDALODUS   CBA88U8,  N.  &  W. 

Plate  XXI,  Figs.  6-8. 

In  the  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  vol.  4,  p.  3fi9,  PI.  IV, 
Fig.  3,  1  described  and  figured  a  fish  tooth  received  from  Dr.  A.  Litton,  of 
Saint  Louis,  to  which  the  above  name  was  given.  This  tooth  was  imperfect, 
lacking  the  narrow  anterior  extremity  and  the  extreme  posterior  angle.  I 
have  recently  received  from  Mr.  William  McAdams,  of  Alton,  a  number  of 
perfect  teeth  of  this  speisies,  which  show  that  the  figure  referred  to  above  is 
liable  to  convey  a  wrong  idea  of  the  complete  form.  For  this  reason  I  have 
thought  it  best  to  give  herewith  two  figures  of  these  teeth  as  found  in  their 
most  perfect  condition.  One  of  these,  represented  in  Fig.  7,  shows  the 
crown  essentially  perfect,  and  but  for  the  information  aff"orded  by  that 
shown  in  Fig.  6  it  would  be  regarded  as  a  perfect  tooth.  From  this  latter, 
howvivor,  we  see  that  when  absolutely  perfect  the  crown  carries  a  narrow 
beveled  mavj^m  from  the  middle  of  the  straight  side  down  to  the  posterior 
angle,  and  it  is  thw^  prolonged  into  a  prominent  acute  point,  one-quarter 
of  an  inch  or  more  in  lenj^Hi.  In  all  others  of  the  great  number  of  npeci- 
mens  whic'.j  I  have  seen  this  po\c?f  is  broken  way,  but  many  of  them  show, 
more  or  less  plaiidy,  the  beveled  bordv;.'-  separated  from  the  crown  by  a  dis- 
tinct line  of  demarkation.  This  margin  wa^  evidently  covered  by  integu- 
ment, and  the  point  formed  by  the  prolonged  Anirle  doubtless  served  to 
increase  the  firmness  of  the  ligamentous  attachment  of  the  bony  teeth  to 
the  cartilaginous  jaw. 

'Falwontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  3:}2,  pi.  40,  flg.  5. 


. 


FISIIEH  OF  THE  OAHBONIFEUOUS  HYHTKM. 


206 


. 


Mr.  ().  St.  John'  miitOH  Sandnlodtis  crasmi.s  witli  .S'.  sputnlntus,  N.  &.  W.,'' 
but  1  largo  iminhor  of  specinioiiH  of  ,S'.  nmsus  whicli  I  Imvo  lurcivtMl  from 
Alton,  Saint  LoniH,  and  OiooncuHtlu,  confoiin  «'lo8oly  with  tlio  typo  now 
(if,nir('(l,  tiiid  amonj,'  tlioiP  all  I  find  none  which  i'oiicspond  with  thiit  .'roni 
which  tho  doHcription  of  S.  spatulatus  wa»  tiikori.  Mr.  St.  .lolin  tonHidciH 
that  HH  simply  a  much-worn  tooth,  Imt  the  wear  of  those  criiHhing  tooth 
came  oidy  on  highor  portions  of  tho  crown.  Of  this  a  ;,'ood  illustration  is 
},''ivon  in  the  spociuKin  roprcscntcd  in  Fij-'.  H,  a  normal  tooth  of  .S'.  crassns,  but 
huviufr  all  tho  more  olovatod  portion  rt-orn  away  by  uso.  Tho  marffinn  aro 
comi)loto  and  tho  onanudod  surface  intact  an<l  polished,  oxcojjt  in  tho  central 
part,  which  bore  tho  brunt  of  tho  attrition  to  which  the  tooth  was  subjected. 
In  this  specimen  we  see  nothiiifr  of  tho  beveled  border  or  tho  projecting 
point  which  shows  so  plainly  in  Fig.  6,  but  that  is  due  to  tho  fact  that  here 
tho  enameled  crown  is  separated  from  tho  bony  base. 

Orodus  RAMOSirS,  Ag. 

Plato  XXVTI,  Fig.  21). 

Orodua  multicarinatus  I ,  N.  &  W. ;  Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  2,  p.  62,  pi.  4,  flg.  13. 

To  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Charles  Rominger,  former  State  geologist  of 
Michigan,  I  am  indebted  for  the  beau  ful  tooth  now  figureu  It  is  repre- 
sented of  the  natural  size ;  is  four  and  a  half  inches  long  by  thirteen  lines 
wide  at  the  center ;  it  shows  the  entire  form  of  the  crown  and  all  the  details 
of  the  surface  markings.  The  general  shape  is  similar  to  that  of  most  of  the 
large  teeth  of  Orodus;  i.  e.,  it  is  broadest  and  highest  near  the  middle,  nar- 
rowing to  either  side,  somewhat  bent  in  outline.  The  crown  is  covered 
with  a  series  of  sharp,  flexuous,  and  somewhat  pectinated  carina),  of  which 
the  most  conspicuous  Maverses  the  surface  from  end  to  end,  but  eccentrically. 
From  this  ridge  (longitudinal  as  regards  the  tooth,  transverse  with  reference 
to  the  mouth  of  the  fish)  descend  to  the  margins  at  frequent  intervals 
equally  strong,  sharp,  simple,  or  forked  pectinated  branches  Those  cover 
all  the  crown  surface,  but  less  closely  on  the  subcentral  cono,  which  is  broad 
and  prominent.     The  enameled  surface  is  obscurely  punctate  throughout 


>Qeol.  Survey  lUiuois,  vol.  7,  p.  188. 


"Ibid.,  vol.  2,  p.  103,  pi.  10,  flg.  8. 


ir 

iv 

I  h 


3  s 


i  :; 


206 


PALEOZOIC  FISUES  OF  JfOETII  AMERICA. 


'  i 


>  n 


In  size,  foiin,  and  markings  this  tooth  '^orrtsponds  closely  with  some  of 
the  specimens  of  Orodus  rnmosus,  Ag.,  of  which  species  a  good  representa- 
tion may  be  seen  in  the  geological  collection  of  the  School  of  Mines,  Colum- 
bia College,  and  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  of  their  specific  identity. 
It  is  probable  also  that  the  tooth  described  and  figured  in  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Illinois,  volume  2,  under  the  name  of  Orodus  muUkannatus,  will 
prove  to  belong  to  the  same  species.  This  specimen  is  only  a  fragment,  a 
part  of  the  centi'al  cone  of  a  tooth  which  must  have  been  twice  as  large  as 
that  now  figured,  or  any  tooth  of  0.  ramosus  before  known,  and  the  surface 
bears  a  larger  number  of  carina)  than  have  been  seen  on  the  central  part  of 
the  crown  of  a  tooth  of  that  species;  but  these  differences  are  rather  of  degree 
than  of  kind.  The  peculiar  ornamentation  of  the  species  is  repeated,  and 
we  can  say  without  hesiti>tion  that  if  not  the  same  it  is  closely  allied  to  that 
of  the  Old  World.  All  the  specimens  referred  to  are  found  at  about  the 
same  geological  level;  that  figured  in  the  Illinois  report  was  ("rom  the  Goni- 
atite  limestone,  the  base  of  the  Lower  Cai-boniferous  at  Rockford,  Ind. 
The  foreign  specimens  came  from  the  Mountain  limestone,  and  that  now 
under  examination  from  the  Waverly  sandstone  at  Grindstone  City,  Mich. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Davis  has  recently  published  in  his  paper,  "  The  Fossil 
Fishes  of  the  Carboniferous  Limestone,"'  better  illustrations  of  the  teeth  of 
Orodus  ramosus  than  any  before  given,  and  has  shown  that  they  exhibit  as 
gi'cat  differences  atuung  themselves  as  they  do  from  the  teeth  with  which  I 
have  compared  them. 

ACONDYLACANTIIUS    OCCIDENTALIS,  N.  &  W. 
Plate  XXV,  Fig.  6. 

The  spines  to  which  this  name  has  been  given  are  from  the  Saint  Louis 
limestone.  They  are  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  in  length,  I'elatively  slen- 
der, gently  arched  backward;  sides  flat  or  arched;  anterior  edge  sharp;  pos- 
terior edge  deeply  furrowed,  and  bordered  by  two  rows  of  small,  acute, 
compressed  and  depressed  hooks.  The  lateral  surfaces  are  occupied  by 
numerous  subequal,  parallel,  continuous,  smooth,  flattened  costae ;  near  the 
base  about  fifteen,  in  the  middle  twelve,  and  within  an  inch  of  the  summit 


^ 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


207 


• 


eight ;  the  number  being  increased  below  through  bifurcation.  The  sum- 
mit is  acute,  the  unornamented  base  very  short  and  abruptly  pointed ;  the 
denticles  extend  from  the  summit  two-thirds  of  the  entire  length. 

From  Mr.  William  McAdams,  of  Alton,  111.,  and  Mr.  II.  A.  Wheeler, 
instructor  in  Washington  University,  Saint  Louis,  I  have  recently  obtained 
much  better  specimens  of  this  spine  than  I  had  when  I  described  the  species 
in  the  Illinois  report.'  These  show  the  summit  and  base,  both  of  which 
were  before  unknown ;  the  former  is  acute,  the  lattor  abruptly  contracted, 
the  unornamented  portion  ren^arkably  short.  In  a  spine  of  eight  inches  in 
lengtli  the  costaj  reach  within  five-eighths  of  an  inch  of  the  end  on  the  an- 
terior border  and  within  about  an  inch  behind. 

To  the  description  of  this  species  in  the  Illinois  report  I  added  the  fol- 
lowing remarks : 

We  bave  referred  these  spines  to  Leptaeantlnts  with  much  doubt,  as  there  seems 
to  be  little  probability  that  they  are  geiierically  identical  with  those  from  the  Oolite, 
which  Agassiz  first  designated  by  that  name.  It  is  true  the  general  form  is  similar, 
but  the  striated  or  contusediy  costate  surface  of  the  typical  Leptacanthi  nmst  have 
given  them  an  aspect  widely  diffeient  from  that  of  these  spines,  so  uniformly  and  regu- 
larly ribbed  throughout.  The  suspicion  that  these  differences  are  generic  is  also 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  up  to  the  present  time  no  teeth  have  been  touiul,  eitiior 
in  the  Lower  Carboniferous  or  Jurassic  rocks,  which  have  been  referred  to  the 
same  genus;  and  it  is  scarcely  probable  that,  while  the  tin  rays  of  these  ancient 
riacoids  have  been  met  with  in  considerable  nnmbers,  the  much  more  numerous  teeth 
could  have  been  overlooked.  Wo  infer,  however,  from  the  figures  and  descriptions  of 
Professor  McCoy  (Britisli  Talajozoic  Fossils,  p.  633,  PI.  3k,  Figs.  13,  14  and  10),  that 
the  spines  which  he  calls  Leptacantht:s  juncms  and  L.  Jenklnsoni  are  generically  iden- 
tical with  ours ;  the  latter  species  being  distinguishable  from  that  before  us  only  by 
the  less  perfect  regularity  of  costation  near  the  base,  greater  spacing  of  the  denticles, 
and  the  striation  of  the  surface— fair  specific  differences.  If,  then,  Professor  McCoy's 
Carboniferous  fin  spines  ara  properly  referred  to  Leptaeantlnts  ours  should  be  so;  but 
for  the  reasons  given  above  it  seems  in  some  degree  probable  that  the  reference  of  his 
specimens  to  that  genus  was  unwarranted.  The  resemblance  which  the  spines  before 
us  and  those  of  Professor  McCoy  bear  to  some  of  the  more  slender  and  compressed 
forms  now  included  in  Ctcnacanthm,  such  as  Ct.  distans,  McCoy,  and  Ct.  graciUimus, 
N.  &  W.,  is  very  marked,  and  is  suggestive  of  closer  relationship  than  has  been  as- 
signed them.  These  species  of  Ctenacanthua  have  been  associated  with  the  great 
hybodoid  spines  Ct.  major,  Ag.,  Ct.  hybodoides,  Egertou,  etc.,  simply  on  account  of 
their  sharing  with  them  the  inconstant  character  of  the  tuberculation  or  pectination 
of  the  longitudinal  costse.  As  we  have  before  remarked,  this  is  almost  too  variable 
and  superficial  a  character  to  serve  as  a  bond  of  generic  union  between  organs  of  which 

■Geol.  Survey  lUiooia,  vol.  2,  p.  116. 


"^WW^SH-IJIIIIM  l,,J.|l;- 


208 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


illi 


the  facies  are  so  diverse.  We  sbould  therefore  suggest  to  those  who,  hereafter  in  pos- 
session of  more  ami)le  iiiateriai,  may  be  better  able  to  adjust  the  classification  of  these 
fossil  fishes,  the  questiou  whether  the  loug,  slender,  and  flattened  species  of  Vtmaean- 
thu8,  cited  above,  should  not  be  united  with  Leptacanthiinjuncem,  L.  Jenkinsoni,  and  the 
pres-jut  species  in  a  generic  group,  distinct  from  both  Ctcnacanlhua  and  Leptacanthua. 

Messrs.  St.  John  and  Worthen,^  acting  upon  the  above  suggestion, 
though  without  reference  to  it,  make  this  species  and  two  others  described 
by  themselves— one  from  the  Kinderhook  of  BurHngton,  Iowa,  and  the 
otlier  from  the  Keokuk  of  Warsaw,  111.— the  types  of  a  new  genus,  to  which 
they  give  the  name  of  Acondylucmithus. 

Up  to  the  present  time  we  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  teeth  that  were 
associated  with  these  spines.  They  will  probably  sometime  be  found  to  be 
such  as  are  known  by  the  names  of  Cladodus  or  Orodiis ;  both  of  which  have 
been  seen  associated  with  the  spnies  of  Ctenacanthiis.  The  spines  of  Acondy- 
lacauthus  have  a  general  resenjhlanct  to  those  of  Ctemcanihus,  but  are  more 
slender  than  most  species  of  that  genus,  and  ma}  be  distinguished  from  them 
by  the  absence  of  all  tuberculation  on  the  i)arallel  and  relatively  unifoi-m 
cost£B  of  the  enameled  surface.  The  base  is  also  shorter  than  in  any  spines 
of  Ctenacanthus  which  have  come  under  my  observation,  though  in  this  char- 
acter they  resemble  some  spines  of  Asterojitychitis. 

So  far  as  yet  known  the  8))ines  of  Acondylacanthus  occidcntalis  are  con- 
fined to  the  Saint  Louis  beds  of  the  Mountain  limestone. 


Antliodus  arcuatus,  n.  sp. 
Plate  XIX,  Figs.  3,  4. 

Teeth  about  one  inch  in  breadth  by  eight  lines  in  height;  outline 
elliptical ;  posterior  face  polished,  gently  concave  laterally,  more  strongly 
vertically ;  upper  margin  subacute,  lower  margin  bordered  by  about  five 
relatively  broad  and  strong  enamel  folds,  which  cover  the  lower  third  of  this 
surface ;  anterior  face  equally  divided  between  the  crown  and  surface  of 
attachment ;  crown  portion  strongly  arched  and  ^'i  z^hly  polished,  its  inferior 
margin  somewhat  bow-shaped,  and  traversed  by  a  single  deep  and  broad 
furrow;   adherent  surface  arched  laterally,  flattened  vertically;  root  low, 

'  Geol.  Survey  lUinois,  vol.  6,  p.  438. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


209 


tumid,  irregular,  proj acting  but  slightly  below  the  arched  margin  of  the 
anterior  face. 

These  teeth  have  somewhat  the  aspect  of  those  of  A.  cucullus,^  N.  &  W., 
when  seen  from  the  posterior  side,  but  they  are  less  high,  the  band  of  enamel 
folds  at  the  base  is  much  broader,  and  they  are  more  numerous ;  while  the 
anterior  foce,  with  its  upper  half  strongly  arched  and  its  single  dtiop  sulcus, 
proves  it  quite  distinct. 

Among  the  species  described  in  the  report  cited  below,  A.  rohustus  and 
A.  simiiis  (PI.  II,  Figs.  9,  10)  are  much  like  this,  but  neither  has  the  char- 
acteristic dorsal  sulcus  of  the  present  species.  The  differences  noticeable 
are  also  increased  in  significance  by  the  ftxct  that  all  the  species  compared 
come  from  different  beds  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone,  as  A.  rohustus  from 
the  Chester  beds,  A.  simiiis  from  the  Keokuk,  while  the  species  now 
described  is  from  the  Saint  Louis  limestone  at  Spencer,  Owen  County,  Ind. 

PoLYRHrzODUS    LiTTONI,  N.  &  W. 
Plate  XIX,  Figs.  5-6". 

A  short  description  and  a  single  view  of  a  tooth  belonging  to  the  above 
species  have  been  published.^  I  have  received  from  the  Saint  Louis  lime- 
stone at  Greencastle,  Ind.,  teeth  of  the  same  species  which  show  an  interest- 
ing variation  of  form  from  that  which  was  taken  as  the  type.  One  of  these 
has  been  figured  to  show  this  diflPerence.  The  root,  it  will  be  seen,  is  much 
longer  in  proportion  to  the  crown,  and  the  concave  surface  occupies  not 
much  more  than  half  of  the  posterior  face.  These  difibrences  may  be  indi- 
vidual, but  more  likely  are  dependent  upon  difi"erent  positions  in  the  mouth 
of  the  fish.  Living  sharks  and  the  few  fjesil  ones  of  which  anything  like 
a  complete  dental  series  has  been  obtained  show  considerable  diversity  of 
both  size  and  form  among  the  teeth  which  occupied  central  and  lateral  posi- 
tions in  the  mouth,  and  frequently  a  marked  difierence  between  those  of 
the  upper  and  lower  jaws.  Hence  there  is  danger  that  among  fossil  teeth 
which  were  scattered  broadcast  over  the  sea  bottom  such  differences  will 


i 


MON  XVI- 


'  Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  a,  p.  41,  pi.  3,  tig,  1. 
nbid.,  vol.  4,  p.  .%7,  pi.  4,  figs.  10,  10". 

-u 


210 


PALEOZOIC)  FIgHKS  OF  NORTH  AMEIUCA. 


I  1 


be  made  the  ground  of  specific  distinction.  It  is  desirable,  therefore,  that 
the  range  of  variation  in  each  tipecies  should  be  determined  as  accurately 
as  possible. 

PSAMMODUS   GLYPTUS,  St.  J.  &  W. 
Plate  XIX,  Fig  i.  7,8. 

Among  a  large  number  of  fish  teeth  obtained  from  the  Saint  Louis 
lime  me  at  Greencastle,  Ind.,  are  several  teeth  of  Psammodus,  which  I  have 
referred  with  some  hesitation  to  the  above  species.  They  are  oblong  and 
quadrangular  in  outline,  are  unii«iiidly  thin,  and  the  crown  surface  is  marked 
by  a  series  of  tuidulations  which  give  them  an  aspect  quite  different  from 
that  of  any  other  teeth  of  Psammodus  T  have  before  seen.  Of  known  species 
of  the  genus  those  described  and  figured  by  St.  John  and  Wortbon*  are  like 
these  in  being  thin  and  undulate,  but  the  peculiar  roughening  of  the  surface 
which  they  describe  is  scarcely  a))parent;  land  yet  much  more  material 
would  be  needed  to  justify  the  establishment  of  a  new  species  upon  this 
difference. 

Section  F. — Fishes  of  the  Coal  Measures. 

The  limestones  and  shales  associated  with  the  beds  of  coal  and  espe- 
cially the  cannel  coals,  have  furnished  in  North  Amer'.ca,  as  in  Europe,  a 
large  number  of  fossil  fishes.  Most  of  these  are  small  tile-scaled  Ganoids 
allied  to  Palceonisciis,  but  with  them  a  considerable  number  of  much  larsrer 
fishes  of  the  same  order  have  been  found,  such  as  Bhizodus  and  Megalkhthys, 
and  those  belonging  to  the  interesting  family  of  the  Cwlacanths.  We  also 
find  here  some  Dipnoans  (Ctcnodus),  but  fewer  relatively  than  in  the  rocks 
of  the  same  age  in  the  Old  World ;  also  a  considerable  number  of  Elasmo- 
branchs,  which  are  represented  by  spines,  as  Ctcnacanthus,  Edestus,  Orthacan- 
thus,  etc.,  and  by  teeth,  as  Cladodus,  Diplodiis,  Pctalodus,  etc. 

Most  of  the  Coal  Measure  fishes  were  apparently  the  inhabitants  of 
fresh  water.  They  include  both  Ganoids  and  Elasmobranchs  which  were 
among  the  largest  and  most  powerful  fishes  known,  such  as  Edestus,  Ctena- 
canthus,  Megalkhthys,  and  lihuodus.     In  the  limestones  of  the  Coal  Measures, 

•  Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  7,  p.  209,  pi.  14,  figs.  5, 6. 


J3 


USHES  OP  TIJE  CAKBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


211 


however,  are  some  fish  remains  which  we  must  consider  marine,  as  those  of 
the  Crinoidal  liniestone  of  Ohio  and  western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  much 
thicker  and  more  wide-spread  limestones  oi"  Coal  Measure  age  in  the  Far 
West.  Here  we  find  Petalodvs,  Chtdodus,  Ctenoptychius,  etc.,  and  in  Arizona 
the  only  Pala-ozoic  Pycnodonti:  yet  found  on  this  continent. 

There  are  a  few  localities  which  deserve  mention  from  the  number  of 
species  they  have  furnished.  These  are  Linton,  Ohio  ;  Morris,  Belleville, 
and  Carlinville,  111.  Probably  there  are  many  others  quite  as  rich,  but  they 
have  not  yet  been  discovered  or  i)roperly  exploited. 

The  Linton  locality  is  especially  interesting  and  instructive.  It  has 
already  yielded  more  than  twenty  species  of  fishes  and  nearly  forty  species 
of  aquatic  amphibians,  all  inhabitants  of  the  same  body  of  water.  These 
are  found  in  a  thin  stratum  of  cannel,  which,  over  a  limited  area,  underlies  a  , 
thick  bed  of  cubical  coal  (No.  6,  of  the  Ohio  Reports),  of  which  the  place 
is  near  the  top  of  the  Lower  Coal  Measures.  This  is  a  bed  of  coal  which 
extends  over  some  thousands  of  square  miles,  and  it  is  usually  a  soft  coking 
coal,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Pittsbui-gh  seam,  which  lies  about  five  hundred 
feet  higher.  At  Linton,  however,  we  have  evidence  that  the  great  marsh  in 
which  the  peat  accumulated  that  formed  Coal  No.  6  was  for  a  time  a  lake 
or  lagoon,  inhabited  by  the  fishes  and  amphibians  to  which  I  have  referred. 
While  this  remained  an  open  body  of  water  carbonaceous  mud  accumulated 
at  its  bottom,  derived  froir  the  drainage  of  the  neighboring  marsh,  which 
carried  with  it  fine  particles  of  completely  macerated  vegetable  tissue.  In 
this  carbonaceous  mud,  now  cannel  coal,  were  buried  the  scales,  bones, 
spines,  and  often  entire  individuals  of  the  inhf-.bitants  of  the  water  above. 
Sometimes  nearly  the  whole  mass  is  made  up  of  animal  dt'l)ris.  Many  of 
the  fishes  and  amphibians  were  highly  carnivorous  a.  d  powerful,  as  we 
learn  from  their  teeth  and  coprolites.  The  largest  of  the  amphibians  must 
have  been  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length,  having  strong  jaws,  set  with  numerous 
lancet-shaped  teeth  an  inch  or  more  in  length.  The  largest  fishes  were 
probably  not  much  their  inferiors  in  size. 

After  a  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  for  many  generations  of  fishes  and 
aquatic  salamanders  to  live  and  die  the  lake  was  filled  by  the  extension  of 
its  peaty  shores  into  it— just  as  so  many  lakelets  are  filled  and  obliterated 


212 


PALEOZOIO  PISHES  OF  NOETH  AMERICA. 


at  the  present  time— and  afterward  over  the  cannel  was  formed  a  mass  of 
peat,  which  has  now  become  a  stratum  of  cubical  coal  seven  feet  in  thickness. 

In  the  Linton  cannel  are  buried  fragments  or  entire  individuals  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  this  body  of  water  which  had  hard  parts— bones,  scales, 
spines,  or  teeth— capable  of  preservation.  Hence  we  here  get  a  locally 
complete  picture  of  the  life  of  the  Carboniferous  age,  and  we  find  it  to  be 
unexpectedly  rich  and  varied.  In  that  age  fishes  and  amphibians  were  the 
highest  forms  of  animal  life,  and  the  amphibians  weie  comparatively  new- 
comers on  the  earth's  surface.  Yet  they  had  multiplied  and  diiferentiated 
until  this  little  pool  contained  millions  of  them,  varying  in  length  from  six 
inches  to  ten  feet  and  curiously  diversified  in  their  forms,  their  scales  and 
spines  and  in  the  ornamentation  of  their  enamel-covered  heads.^ 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  fishes  which  have  been  up  to  the  present 
time  found  at  Linton.     They  are  described  in  the  Palaeontology  of  Ohio: 


Calaeanthus  robusiits,  Newb. 
elegant,  Newb. 
ornatiw,  Newb. 
Palaoniscus  (Eloniehthyn)  peltiget-us,  Newb. 
Eurylepis  tuberciifatus,  Nowb. 

corrugaitie,  Newb. 

ovoideus,  Nowb. 

intculpius,  Newb. 

ornaiissivius,  Newb. 

granulatiw,  Newb, 

niiiiimi(»,  Nowb. 

striolatus,  Newb. 

lineatus,  Newb. 

macrops,  Newb. 


BhUodus  angiistua  (tooth),  Newb. 

lancifer  (teeth),  Nowb. 

quadratita  (scales),  Newb. 

oovidentalia  (scales),  Newb. 
Orthacanthus  arcuatun,  Nowb. 

graciUa,  Newb. 
Compsacanthus  levia,  Newb. 
£'plodus  comprenauii,  Nowb. 

lattts,  Newb. 

graciUa,  Ne^-b. 
Ctmodiu  aerratita,  Newb. 

re(ioM(a(«»,  Newb. 

OhioenaU,  Cope. 


The  most  striking  feature  in  this  group  is  formed  by  the  species  of 
Eurylepis.  These  were  beautiful  little  Palajoniscoid  fishes,  clothed  in  pol- 
ished armor  of  smooth  or  ornamented  scales,  of  which  those  on  the  sides  are 
much  higher  than  long ;  the  head  bones  are  also  highly  ornamented  with 
tubercles,  granulations,  or  thread-lines.  They  vary  in  length  from  one  to 
five  inches,  and,  coated  as  they  frequently  are  with  a  brilliant  film  of 
pyrites,  tiiey  appe  ir  as  though  wrought  in  gold  upon  a  jet-black  grousdi 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  fossil  fishes. 

'  These  amphibians  all  belong  to  Owen's  group  of  the  Ganocephala,  so  named  from  the  enameled 
plates  by  wliich  their  heads  were  covered.  Their  bodies  were  generally  protected  by  scales  or  spines 
of  various  kinds.  In  these  characters  as  well  as  in  size  they  surpassed  the  amphibians  of  the  present 
day— frogs,  toads,  and  salaumnders— which  are  all  small,  and  are  clothed  in  a  soft  and  naked  skin. 


PISHES  OF  THE  OAltBONlFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


213 


The  several  species  which  have  been  enumerated  differ  from  eacli  other 
in  size,  the  relative  height  and  length  of  scales,  or  the  ornamentation  of  the 
head  bones.  Probably  some  of  these  differences  are  dependent  upon  sex, 
age,  or  accidental  variation  within  specific  limits,  but  the  great  diversity  in 
the  altitude  of  the  side  scales— from  double  to  five  times  the  length— and 
the  linear  or  tuberculated  ornamentation  of  the  cranium  seem  to  prove  that 
there  were  at  least  half  a  dozen  distinct  species.  Although  so  numerous  in 
this  locality  that  many  hundred  individuals  have  been  collected,  no  repre- 
sentative of  the  genus  has  been  found  elsewhere  except  a  single  specimen 
which  I  detected  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Carr,  of  Morris,  III 

The  next  most  abundant  fish  at  Linton  is  Ccehcanthus  dcgans;  yet  while 
perhaps  a  thousand  specimens  more  or  less  perfect  have  been  taken  fr  n 
one  coal  mine  there,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  one  found  at  Morris  no 
representative  of  this  world-wide  genus  has  been  elsewhere  seen  in  America. 
The  ElonicMhys  {E.  peltigerus,  N.)  which  appears  in  the  list  recurs  in 
the  cannel  coal  at  Canfield,  Ohio,  and  at  Morris,  111. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  element  in  the  Linton  fauna  is  Ccehcanthus 
dcgans,  N.  This  is  so  much  like  C.  lepturus  of  the  English  Coal  Measures, 
that  I  have  been  doubtful  whether  it  should  be  regarded  as  distinct ;  the 
only  observed  difference  being  the  greater  continuity  and  parallelism  of  the 
thread-lines  which  ornament  the  scales,  jaws,  and  jugular  plates  of  the  Lin- 
ton fishes.  They  are  at  least  so  much  alike  as  to  show  that  they  have 
been  derived  from  a  common  ancestry,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
widely  separated  localities  where  they  arc  found  came  by  migration  from  a 
common  place  of  origin. 

The  similarity,  not  to  say  identity,  of  structure  in  this  highly  specialized 
group  of  fishes  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  tenacity  with  which  organic 
forms  hold  to  their  characters  through  long  periods  of  time  and  in  diversified 
surroundings.  The  migration  of  these  fishes  must  have  been  through  bodies 
of  fresh  water,  necessarily  very  slow  and  through  great  changes  of  environ- 
ment, yet  their  very  complicated  structure,  in  both  essentials  and  ornamen- 
tation, has  been  entirely  unaffected  by  time— which  would  favor  spontane- 
ous or  inherent  variation— and  circumstance,  usually  supposed  to  have 
almost  unlimited  modifying  power. 


214 


PALROZOKl  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I 


The  largest  fislies  of  the  Linton  group  are  as  yet  known  only  by  frag- 
ments, and  we  have  therefore  very  much  to  learn  about  thcni  The  tesael- 
Uited  cranium  of  Cfenodus  has,  however,  been  found  nearly  entire,  '^riiis  is 
a  foot  or  more  in  length,  showing  that  the  fish  to  which  it  belonged  was  of 
considerable  size ;  but  the  few  teeth  of  tlie  genus  yet  found  in  this  locality 
are  disproportionately  small. 

The  teeth  of  Diplodiis  are  exceedingly  common  and  some  of  them  are 
of  large  size.  In  the  largest  (I),  latus)  the  lateral  denticles  are  broader, 
thinner,  and  more  lancet-shaped  than  in  any  of  those  found  in  Europe.' 

The  two  smaller  species,  which  I  have  called  D.  compressus  and  D, 
(jracilis,  are  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  those  named  by  Agassiz  D.  (jih- 
hosut  •  but  the  spines  of  Orthacanthus  found  at  Linton — which  belonged  to 
the  same  fishes — form  two  or  tl.'ree  species,  which  are  apparently  all  distinct 
from  those  associated  with  the  teeth  of  Diphdus  in  foreign  localities.  In 
several  instances  I  have  found  the  cartilaginous  jaws  more  or  less  perfectly 
preserved  and  still  bearing  the  teeth ;  these  formed  many  rows  from  front 
to  rear,  with  many  teeth  in  a  row,  lying  appressed  like  the  rear  teeth  of 
Carcharias,  etc. 

Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  the  Linton  locality  is  the  most  in- 
structive of  all  our  known  repositories  of  fossil  fishes,  chiefly  because  we 
have  here  the  history  of  a  colony  which  can  be  read  with  a  good  degree  of 
completeness ;  a  kind  of  window,  through  which  we  can  look  into  the  Car- 
boniferous age,  and  over  a  limited  area  see  everything  that  was  taking 
place ;  and  yet  this  was  but  a  part,  and  a  very  small  part,  of  a  great  whole. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  species  found  here  once  lived  in  a  thousand  other 
localities,  and  with  them  were  many  others  of  which  we  as  yet  have  no 
traces. 

The  nodules  of  iron  ore  contained  in  the  coal  shales  on  the  banks  of 
Mazon  Creek  near  Morris,  111.,  generally  contain  organic  nuclei,  and  thou- 
sands of  beautiful  specimens  have  been  obtained  there.  They  are  usually 
fragments  of  fern  fronds,  but  are  sometimes  shells,  crustaceans,  myriapods, 

'All  the  HpecinieiiH  of  this  species  found  1>»fore  my  description  was  published  (Palujoiitolojry  of 
Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  44,  pi.  58,  fij;.  1)  witc  without  a  central  dcnt'cle,  and  I  gave  that  as  one  of  its  charac- 
ters ;  liiit  Mr.  M.  C.  Read  liiis  recently  sent  to  nio  a  large  and  finely  preserved  tooth,  in  which  tbomiddle 
cone,  though  very  suiall,  ia  distinctivuly  visible. 


FISHKS  OF  THE  (JAIIUONIFBUOUS  SYSTEM. 


215 


scorpions,  spiders,  cockroaches,  or  fishes.  Among-  tlio  hitter  are  three 
species  oi  Pala;oniscus,  one  of  Amhlypferus,  and  two  oi  I'lutysomus,  which  uro 
described  in  the  Palfeontology  of  Illinois.  L.-irgcs  ornamented  scales  of  two 
or  three  kinds  are  also  occasionally  met  with  in  the  iron-ore  nodnles ;  they 
have  been  referred  to  Rhizodus,  but  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  they  belong 
to  that  genus.  Since  the  notice  of  the  Mazon  Creek  fishes  was  published 
in  the  report  of  the  Illinois  Geological  Survey  I  have  received  from  there  a 
single  specimen  each  of  Eunjlepis  and  Cakcanthus,  probably  not  distinct 
from  those  found  at  Linton. 

In  the  shales  of  the  Coal  Measures  at  Belleville  and  Carlinville,  111., 
Mr.  Alexander  Butters  has  collected  a  large  number  of  fish  remains;  these 
consist  mainly  of  the  teeth  of  Cladodus,  Petalodus,  Sandalodm,  Orthopleurodus, 
and  the  spines  of  Edcstus.  The  latter  all  belong  to  the  species  E.  Ileinrkim, 
N.  &  W.,  and  are  often  disarticulated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  distinctly 
the  structure  and  mode  of  growth  of  this  singular  organ.  These  I  have 
illustrated  with  figures  in  another  part  of  this  memon,  «nd  I  will  only  say 
here  that  in  this  species,  as  well  as  in  E.  minor,  which  I  have  from  the  Coal 
Measures  of  Indiana,  growth  took  place  by  additions  of  sheaths  to  the 
upper  extremity  of  the  first  segrient.  This  proves  that  the  spine  was  all 
buried  in  the  integument  except  the  great  compressed,  enameled,  crenu- 
lated  denticles;  each  of  which  was  borne  at  the  extremity  of  its  own 
segment  or  sheath.  I'he  spine  is  symmetrical,  and  therefore  was  placed 
on  the  median  line,  probably  near  the  tail,  where  considerable  freedom 
of  motion  would  permit  its  being  used  to  lacerate  any  attacking  foe.  I 
have  suggested  that  it  was  cairied  far  back  on  the  dorsal  line  like  the  spines 
of  Trygon. 

I  have  included  Megalkhthys  in  the  list  of  American  Coal  Measure 
fishes,  because  I  have  found  in  Ohio  masses  of  scales  and  bones  which  are 
scarcely  distinguishable  from  those  of  Megalkhthys  Ilibherti,  Ag  These 
are  rhomboidal  in  outline,  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length;  the  surfixce 
covered  with  brown,  highly  polished,  punctate  enamel.  They  occur  in  a 
black  shale  over  a  bed  of  coal  at  Mineral  Point,  Stark  County,  Ohio,  in  cir- 
cumstances similar  to  those  in  which  the  remains  of  Megalkhthys  are  found 
in  England. 


If 


216 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMEKIUA. 


Sir  William  DiiwHon  lias  described  in  his  Acadian  Geology  a  number 
of  Carboniforons  fisbe.s,  of  which  those  of  the  Albert  niiiio  mid  Ilorton  liluflf 
have  been  already  noticed;  most  of  the  others  are  from  the  Coal  Measures.' 
New  species  of  Ctrnoptijchius,  Diphdus,  lUiuodm,  Conchotlus,  P.->(uiiin(>(lus,  and 
Gymcmitlius  are  described.  Of  these,  Conchodus  is  apparently  the  palate 
tooth  of  a  Diptoriiie  Ganoid,  probably  belonging  to  the  genus  Ctcnodus,  and 
the  Gyracaulhiis  (G.  dupHcafus,  Daw.)  is  one  of  the  most  peculiar  and  inter- 
esting species  of  the  genua. 

In  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  Carboniferous  fishes  already  cited  I 
would  refer  the  reader  to  the  following  papers : 

Descriptions  of  the  Remains  of  Fishes  from  tlie  Carboniferous  lime- 
stone of  Illinois  and  Missouri;  by  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D.,  Trans.  Am.  Tliilos. 

Soc,  vol.  11,  p.  87. 

Descriptions  of  some  Remains  of  Fishes  from  the  Carboniferous  and 
Devonian  Formations  of  the  United  States;  by  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  1).,  Jour. 
Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  2d  series,  vol.  3,  1855-1858,  p.  159,  Pis.  XV,  XVI, 

XVII. 

In  the  Second  Biennial  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Alabama,  1858,  p.  38, 
Prof.  M.  Tuomey  notices  the  occurrence  of  spines  and  teeth  of  fishes  in  the 
Lower  Carboniferous  limestone  of  that  State.  He  mentions  teeth  of  Psam- 
modm  and  a,  spine  of  Ctenacanthus  "closely  allied  to  Ct.  kmiistnatus,  Ag," 
and  gives  rough  wood-cuts  of  this  and  two  species  of  Cladodiis,  which  he 
names  C.  Netvmani  and  C.  mafjnifcus.  The  former  of  these  is  too  imperfect 
for  identification,  but  the  latter  I  have  often  recognized  among  the  fish  teeth 
obtained  from  the  Lower  Carboniferous  limestone  of  Llinois  and  Indiana; 
very  large  teeth,  with  a  central  cone  one  and  a  half  inches  long  and  rela- 
tively small  lateral  denticles. 

The  fishes  of  the  American  Coal  Measures  have  been  so  fully  illus- 
trated in  the  geological  reports  of  Illinois  and  Ohio  that  it  seems  imneces- 
sary  to  attempt  a  thorough  review  of  them  here,  but  notes  on  a  few  new  or 
moie  remarkable  forms  will  be  found  on  the  following  pages^ 

'  They  are  referred  to  in  Acadian  Geology,  1868,  p.  209. 


FI8UES  OV  THE  CAUIJON1KEUOU8  SYSTEM. 


217 


THE  STRUCTURE  AND  RELATIONS  OK  EDESTUS. 

Tho  first  of  tlio  reiimrknblo  group  of  foHwilrt  now  included  in  tlio  gonuH 
Edcsim  wns  brought  to  the  notice  of  HcientistH  by  Dr.  JoHeph  Leidy,  in  bin 
deHcription  of  Julcstus  vorax}  The  typo  flpecinion  vviis  only  u  fragment  of 
iin  organ  tlmt  muHt  have  hiid  ii  length  of  a  foot  or  more  by  four  inches  in 
width  and  one  and  a  half  inches  in  thickness.  The  portion  figured  by 
Professor  I^eidy  seems  to  have  come  from  about  the  middle,  and  consists  of 
a  mass  of  bone  composed  of  a  series  of  segments,  each  of  which  carries  at 
its  upper  margin  an^  enameled,  compressed,  triangidar,  crentdated  denticle 
one  and  a  half  inches  in  height  nnd  breadth.  In  general  aspect  those  den- 
ticles considerably  resemble  the  crenulated  teeth  of  Carrhnrodon,  but  show 
thir,  marked  difference,  that  like  all  tho  cutting  teeth  of  sharks  these  latter 
are  flattened  on  one  sitle,  arched  on  the  other,  and  terminate  below  in  a 
bony  base  that  hnd  only  a  ligamentotis  attachment  to  a  cartilaginous  jaw ; 
hence  in  death  and  decomposition  the  teeth  were  generally  separated  and 
scattered.  In  Edestus,  however,  the  denticles  are  firmly  anchylosed  to  a 
bony  support. 

At  tho  meeting  of  the  American  Association  held  in  Providence  in 
1855  another  and  quite  difierent  species  of  Edcstus  was  exhibited  by  Prof. 
Edward  Hitchcock.  It  was  considered  by  him  to  be  "the  jaw  of  a  shark, 
but  of  very  peculiar  character,"  Prof  Louis  Agassiz,  who  was  present,  ex- 
amined the  specimen,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  formed  a  part  of  the 
jaw  of  a  shark  allied  to  the  sawfish.  Ho  stated  that  "the  sword  oi  Pristis 
is  orginally  composed  of  two  bones,  and  if  these  sliould  continue  separated, 
each  part,  with  teeth  only  on  one  side,  would  not  bo  much  unlike  the  fossil." 
He  suggested  that  the  fish  had  a  corresponding  jaw  projecting  from  the  op- 
posite side  of  its  head,  and  that  both  formed  a  powerful  weapon  of  offense. 
He  regarded  h  as  belonging  not  only  to  an  undescribed  genus,  but  to  a  new 
family  of  fishes. 

This  specimen  was  obtained  by  tho  Rev.  John  Hawks  in  Park  County, 
Ind.,  "in  a  layer  of  shale  overlying  a  coal  seam."  Subsequently  it  was 
submitted  by  Dr.  Hitchcock  to  Prof.  Richard  Owen,  of  London,  who  dis- 

•  Jonr.  Acad.  Mat.  Sci.  Pbila.,  2d  series,  vol.  3,  1656,  p.  15i),  pi.  16. 


218 


PALEOZOIU  FI8F1E8  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


Professor  Owon  decided 


cusses  its  relations  and  gives  a  bad  figure  of  it.' 
that  it  was  not  a  jaw,  but  a  defensive  spino. 

In  18(; ;  1  describetl'  what  proved  subsequently  to  be  a  fragment  of  a 
spino  similar  to  that  exhibited  at  Providence  by  Professor  Hitchcock,  giving 
to  it  the  name  of  Edestus  minor.  A  figure  taken  from  a  photograph  of  a 
nearly  complete  specimen  of  this  sjjecies  was  published  in  the  report  of 
the  fieological  Survey  of  Illinois,  volume  4,  PI.  I,  Fig.  2,  though  wrongly 
named  on  the  opposite  page  of  explanations  Edestus  vortix.  In  the  same 
volume,  page  350,  was  published  a  description  of  a  third  species  of  Edcslus, 
E.  Ileinrkhsi,  and  a  half-size  figure  is  given  on  the  plate  cited  above.  To 
these  three  species  I  now  add  a  fourth,  of  gigantic  size,  which  1  have  named 
Edestus  f/itjaiiteus,  and  give  in  this  memoir  a  description  and  a  plate  of  it. 

'rhe  geographical  distribution  of  these  species  t)f  Edestus  is  somewhat 
peculiar.  The  first  specimen  described  (E.  vorax)  was  obtained  from  the 
Coal  Measures  of  Arkansas;  the  second  (E.  minor)  fronj  Park  County,  Ind.; 
the  third  (E.  Ileinrichsi)  from  shale  over  coal  at  lielleville,  III,  and  the 
specimens  of  which  a  description  and  n  figure  are  now  published  is  from  the 
coal  shale  at  Decatur,  in  the  same  State.  I  should  also  say  that  I  have 
other  specimens  of  jE.  Ileinrichsi  from  Vermillion  Con  ity,  Ind.,  and  Carlin- 
vill'e.  111.,  and  of  E.  minor  from  Posey  County,  Tnd.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  all  the  specimens  known,  now  quite  numerous,  are  from  the  Mississippi 
coal  field;  that  is,  the  coal  area  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  once  continuous, 
but  now  separated  by  the  erosion  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Missis.sippi. 

In  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  much  more  extensive  excavations  in  the  coal 
rocks  and  numerous  collections  of  Carboniferous  fossils  have  been  made, 
but  not  a  trace  of  Edestus  has  been  fo,;!.d  there.  Hence  we  must  infer  that 
it  never  passed  the  highlands  of  t'e  i  aicinnati  arch,  which  separated  the 
western  from  the  eastern  coal  basins. 

The  material  in  which  the  spines  of  Edestus  are  found  is  almost  without 
exception  the  bituminous  shale  which  occurs  so  often  interstratified  with  the 
other  elements  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  very  frequently  resting  upon  coal. 

From  the  black  shale  which  forms  the  roof  of  a  coal  mine  at  Ikdleville, 
III,  Mr.  Alexander  Butters,  the  superintendent  of  this  mine,  has  taken  hun- 


1 


'  Palajontology,  2d  edition,  p.  124. 


»6eol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  8,  p.  84. 


;L 


FISUE8  OF  TFIK  (JAUiJONIFKUOIJ!.  8Y8TBM. 


919 


flrods  of  tho  HfirrmcntH  which  onco  comji-wod  tlio  8i»inoH  of  J<J.  Ifeinrichsi. 
1'liiM  Hhiilu  JH  iipparently  ii  iroHh-water  mfdiinciit,  carbomuuuius  tmul  wh'wh 
acciuiiuhiti'd  in  tho  hifroouH  (»f  water  that,  (icciii)iod  portioiiH  of  thu  coal 
nuirshcH;  either  foUowiiig  a  subsidenco  and  tiieii  covering  tho  coal,  or  Hyn- 
chronouH  with  tho  peat  front  which  the  cubical  coal  it*  derived.  In  the  latter 
caHo  the  amount  of  earthy  matter  HHMociated  with  tho  carbon  is  less,  and  wo 
then  have  cannel  coal.  Some  of  thoHe  lagoons  nniHt  have  been  v"*"  large, 
and  may  perhaps  have  conununicated  with  the  ocean;  for  tlu.  fisi'  «  ..hich 
bore  these  defensive  and  offenHivo  weapons  were  of  enormous  size,  and  could 
not  have  been  restricted  to  very  narrow  (piarters,  since  they  required  a  vast 
amount  of  food  for  their  subsistence.  The  associated  fossils  include  a  large 
number  of  fish  teeth,  some  of  wliich  beloiij^  to  carnivorous  sharks,  as  Clado- 
dus  and  Pctalodus,  and  others  with  crushing  teeth,  as  Omliin,  Otthopleumlus, 
etc.  The  habitat  of  Edestus  would  therefore  seem  to  have  been  somewhat 
simihir  io  that  oi  Ilhizodus  and  Mc()(dichthys,  of  which  the  teeth,  scales,  etc., 
are  so  common  in  the  coal  shales  and  cannels  of  England  and  Scotland. 

Prof  Henry  Woodward  describes'  and  figures  a  fossil  from  the  Car- 
boniforons  rocks  of  Australia,  to  which  he  gives  tho  name  of  Edcstus 
Duvisi.  It  is  the  imj)re8sion  of  a  bony  arch  about  four  inches  long,  on  the 
convex  border  of  which  are  set  fourteen  acute,  compressed,  lancet-shaped, 
crenulated  denticles.  It  is  more  curved  than  the  other  described  species  of 
Edestus,  but  is  so  like  them  that  Dr.  Woodward  seems  to  have  been  fully 
justified  in  placing  it  in  that  genus.  In  his  discussion  of  the  structure  and 
relations  of  this  fossil  Dr.  Woodward  compares  it  with  the  segmented  spines 
of  Pelecopterus,  Cope,  from  the  Cretaceous  rocks  of  Kansas,  and  is  thereby 
led  to  consider  it  a  pectoial  defensive  spine.  There  are,  however,  some 
points  in  tho  structure  of  this  and  other  spines  of  Edcstus  which  will  be 
alluded  to  farther  on,  that  make  it  difiicult  for  us  to  accept  this  conclusion. 

In  August,  1887,  Miss  Fanny  R  M.  Hitchcock,  an  earnest  and  accom- 
plished student  of  comparative  anatomy,  read  a  paper  before  the  Biological 
Section  of  the  American  Association  "On  the  Homologies  of  the  so-called 
Spines  of  Edestus,''^  in  which  she  suggested  that  Edestus  was  an  intermandib- 
ular  arch  of  bone  carrying  teeth,  and  most  like  the  dentigerous  arch  which 

■Qeol.  Magazine,  London,  vol.  22  (ISSC),  p.  2. 


ft 

i  if 


220 


TALEOZOIO  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


was  held  between  the  extremities  of  the  mandibles  in  the  great  Crossoptery- 
gian  Ganoid,  Ouychodus  s'upnoidvs,  found  in  the  Corniferous  limestone  of 
Ohio,  and  described*  by  me.  There  are  perhaps  no  facts  vvhicli  disprove 
this  hypothesis,  and  it  is  worthy  of  respectful  consideration,  but  1  would 
suggest  that  Onychodus  was  very  widely  sei)arated  zoologically  from  Edes- 
tm,  which  must  have  been  a  Plagiostome.  At  least,  unless  the  skeletons 
of  huge  fishes  like  Edestus  giganteus  were  cartiljiginous,  we  should  find  their 
bone^    u  tho  rocks  where  their  spines  are  so  numerous. 

The  structui-e  and  probable  functions  of  Edeshis  have  been  discussed^ 
by  mo  at  some  length  in  the  notes  on  E.  IleUiiichsi,  and  the  conclusion  is 
there  refched  that  it  is  not  a  jaw,  but  the  defensive  dorsal  sjiine  of  a  Plagi- 
ostome fish.  The  considerations  which  led  me  to  this  conclusion  are  briefly 
as  follows: 

First.  Although  the  denticles  which  crown  the  convex  border  of  Edes- 
tus  have  the  general  form  and  crenulation  of  the  teeth  of  Carcharodon  and 
Hcmpristis,  their  structure  is  in  many  respects  quite  different,  viz:  the  teeth 
of  none  of  the  sharks  are  symmetrical;  one  face  is  flattened  and  the  other  is 
more  or  less  arched  j  while  the  denticles  of  Edestus  are  equally 'arched  on 
both  sides. 

Second.  The  teeth  of  sharks,  while  having  enameled  crowns,  have 
tumid  bony  bases,  attached  by  ligament  to  the  cartilaginous  jaws  and  sepa- 
rating readily  from  them  ;  hence  they  are  rarely  found  in  place  in  the  fossil 
state.  The  denticles  of  Edestus,  on  the  contrary,  are  firmly  attached  to  the 
bony  arch  from  which  they  rise. 

Third.  The  form  of  these  fossils  is  quite  unlike  that  of  any  jaw  of  fish, 
reptile,  or  mammal  known ;  being  roughly  rounded  at  the  base,  the  opposite 
extremity  flattened,  and  bordered  on  one  side  by  a  sharp  edge;  on  the  other 
by  crenulated  denticles,  one  of  which  is  terminal. 

Fourth.  The  rounded,  roughened  base  proves  that  this  organ  could  not 
have  been  articulated  with  any  bonei^  and  scarcely  with  cartilages,  else  we 
should  have  some  evidence  of  co-adaptation,  In  this  respect  it  resembles 
most  of  tha  dorsal  spines  of  sharks  and  skates,  which  are  implanted  in  the 

'  PaliHontolog.v  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  299,  pi.  26,  figs.  1-5 ;  pi.  27,  tigs.  1,  2. 
■  Geology  of  liUaoia,  vol.  4,  p.  350. 


FISHES  OP  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


221 


integument  of  the  back  and  have  a  roughened  base  and  bony  structure, 
with  various  forms  of  enameled  denticles  on  the  margin. 

Fifth.  If  the  spines  of  IJilestus  were  attached  to  the  head  as  modified 
jiws  and  the  homologues  of  the  rostrum  of  Pristis,  the  base  would  presont 
some  evidence  of  anchylosis  with  the  bones  or  cartilages  of  the  head; 
whereas  it  is  rounded,  as  though  it  had  been  buried  in  soft  tissue.  Again, 
the  rostrum  of  rristls  is  only  partially  ossified,  while  the  spines  of  Edcstns 
are  composed  of  dense  bone;  and,  further,  the  denticles  of  the  rostrum  in 
Pristis  are  set  in  alveolar  cavities,  from  which  they  escape  and  are  scattered 
about  in  the  decay  of  the  animal.  We  often  find  these  denticles  in  the  Cre- 
taceous marls,  but  almost  always  isolated,  like  tha  sharks'  teeth  wliicli  occur 
with  them.  On  the  contrary,  the  denticles  of  IJdestus  are  inseparably  uin'ted 
with  their  bony  bases,  and  they  are  perfectly  preserved  together. 

Finally,  if  each  spine  of  Edcsfus  was  one  of  a  pair  attached  to  the 
snout,  like  the  rostrum  of  Pristis,  Xiphias,  or  Ccehrhijiichus,  they  must  have 
been  entirely  separated,  for  they  bear  no  marks  of  contact,  and  they  would 
certainly  have  been  unsymmetric  1.  We  are  therefore  driven  by  the  bilat- 
eral synunetry  of  Edesttis  to  conclude  that  it  was  not  one  of  a  pair,  but  that 
it  stood  alone  somewhere  on  the  median  line,  either  as  a  homologue  (»f  the 
iritermandibular  arch  of  Ouyclwdus,  the  dorsal  spines  of  Chim  ra  and  Jlyho- 
dus,  or  of  the  caudal  spines  of  Tri/f/on. 

The  suggestion  of  Miss  Hitchcock  that  Edestus  is  an  intermandibular 
bony  arch  carrying  teeth  is  not  incompatible  with  its  bilateral  synnnetry ; 
but  we  here  meet  the  difPculty  already  suggested,  that  OnycJwdtts,  the  only 
fish  known  which  had  such  an  intermandibular  arch  of  bone,  was  a  scaled 
Ganoid  allied  to  rolypterns  and  has  left  abundant  bones  beside  its  inter- 
mandibular arch.  In  Oiii/chodus  sigmoidcs  of  the  Corniferous  limestone,  and 
0.  Hoitkinsi  of  the  Chemung  group,  the  teeth  are  not  anchylosed  to  the 
arch,  are  almost  always  found  detached,  and  the  sides  of  the  arch  are  com- 
pressed between  the  extremities  of  the  mandibles.  In  0.  Ortoni,  of  the 
Huron  shale,  the  teeth  are  implanted  in  the  bony  arch  as  a  post  is  set  in 
the  ground,  and  the  arch  is  not  distinctly  impressed  by  the  extremities  of 
the  mandibles.  The  type  specimen  of  0.  Ortoni  is  yet  unique,  and  we  know 
nothing  of  the  other  parts  of  the  fish  wliich  bore  it.     It  is,  of  course,  not 


\  : 


i  1 


222 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NOETH  AMERICA. 


impossible  that  this  singular  form  of  dentition  might  have  been  borrowed 
by  some  Plagiostome  which  used  it  to  accomplish  a  similar  function  ;  but 
no  facts  are  yet  known  to  warrant  this  supposition. 

Edcstus  Davisi  is  more  like  tlie  intermandibular  crest  of  Omjcliodus  than 
are  the  other  species  of  the  genus.  It  is  umch  more  curved  and  the  arch 
of  bone  from  which  the  denticles  rise  is  laterally  compressed  or  longitudi- 
nally grooved.  Taken  by  itself,  it  renders  the  suggestion  of  Miss  Hitchcock 
quite  plausible.  But  it  cannot  be  taken  by  itself;  for  wherever  that  species 
goes,  E.  minor,  E.  Heinrichsi,  and  E.  (jigantem  must  follow,  and  wliile  we 
can  imagine  a  fish  ten  feet  long  with  an  arch  of  bone  like  E.  Davisi  held 
between  the  extremities  of  the  mandibles,  it  requires  a  much  greater  stretch 
of  the  imagination  to  conceive  of  a  shark  of  such  size  that  this  relatively 
insignificant  organ  was  twenty  inches  long  and  seven  or  eight  inches  v/iAr 
Certaiidy  such  a  monster  would  seem  very  much  out  of  place  in  the  lagoons 
of  the  coal  marshes.  Again,  E.  Heinrichsi  is  nearly  straight,  a  foot  long, 
rounded  and  massive  at  one  end,  thin  and  acute  at  the  other ;  but  the  suc- 
cession of  denticles,  was  by  additions  to  the  acute  end,  which  must  have 
been  behind,  for  if  it  was  situated  in  the  symphysis,  the  blunt,  rounded  end 
would  have  formed  the  apex  of  the  arch  of  the  lower  jaw ;  a  condition  of 
things  scarcely  comprehensible. 

If,  now,  we  transfer  this  spine  to  the  position  of  the  post-dorsal  lin,  and 
bury  it  in  the  soft  parts,  all  except  the  denticles,  the  elongation  backward 
by  the  successive  addition  of  sheaths  and  denticles  becomes  intelligible  and 
natural. 

There  are  some  other  features  in  this  fossil  which  require  notice,  viz: 
There  is  no  distinct  line  of  demarkation  between  an  exposed  and  a  buried 
portion,  such  as  we  find  in  most  of  the  defensive  spines  of  sharks,  unless,  as 
seems  probable,  all  the  shaft  was  buried  and  only  the  denticles  exposed. 
Another  peculiarity  is  the  absence  of  the  medullary  cavity  found  in  most 
dorsal  spines  of  Sharks.  This  is  quite  conspicuous  in  the  spines  of  Hyhodus, 
Ctenacanthus,  etc. ;  but  in  the  Rays  the  spines  are  solid,  and  there  is  little 
distinction  between  the  exposed  and  buried  parts.  The  exceptional  char- 
acters just  mentioned  need  not,  therefore,  be  considered  incompatible  with 
the  view  that  these  fossils  are  dorsal  spines. 


FISHES  OF  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 


223 


The  segmented  structure  of  Edesius  is  its  most  marked  and  anomalous 
feature,  but  one  equally  so  whether  it  be  considered  spine,  jaw,  rostrum,  or 
interinandibular  arch.  It  is  undoubtedly  to  this  structure  that  we  must 
ascribe  the  absence  of  a  medullary  cavity,  as  each  segn)ent  btaring  a 
denticle  seems  to  have  been  nourished  independently  of  its  fellows.  It  is 
also  apparent  that  the  growth  of  this  organ  was  by  additions  to  the  summit 
of  feuccessive  sheaths,  each  of  which  carried  a  denticie.  This  is  strikingly 
different  from  the  mode  of  growth  of  all  sharks'  spines  known,  as  these  in- 
crease by  additions  to  the  base,  and  are  thus  pushed  upward  and  lengthened. 
The  same  is  true  of  all  rostra  which  are  used  as  weapons  of  defense  or 
offense.  If  we  consider  the  segments  of  Ecleshis  as  homologues  of  a  dental 
series  we  encounter  the  same  difficulty.  A  row  of  teeth  of  Orodtis,  for  ex- 
ample, which  consist  of  enameled  crowns  with  flattened  bony  bases  lying 
in  contact  and  compressed  together,  considered  as  a  whole,  jn-esents  some 
analogy  with  our  fossils ;  but  there,  too,  the  growth  is  from  behind  forward, 
new  teeth  moving  up  to  take  the  places  of  such  as  are  broken  or  worn  away. 
The  numerous  disconnected  segments  of  Edestus  Hvinriclisi  furnished  me 
by  Mr.  Butters  seem  to  prove  conclusively  that  the  spine  was  elongated  by 
the  addition  of  a  sheath  carrying  a  denticle  to  the  extremity  and  under 
side  of  the  pre-existing  series,  as  shown  in  PI.  XXXIX,  Fig.  2**.  i  also 
have  from  Vermillion  County,  Ind.,  a  specimen  figured  on  PI.  XXXIX, 
Fig.  2',  which  seems  to  be  the  basal  segment  of  a  sjiine,  probably  of  a 
young  individual  of  Edestus  Ileinrichsi.  This  is  a  spatulate  solid  bone,  car- 
rying a  beautifully  perfect  enameled  denticle  at  its  extremity.  The  shells 
or  sheaths  obtained  from  Mr.  Butters  are  similar  to  this,  except  that  each 
one  is  a  trough,  into  which  the  succeeding  one  fits,  and  the  added  cap  cov- 
ers a  portion  of  the  enameled  base  of  its  predecessor.  If  this  is  all  true, 
and  it  seems  undeniable,  we  are  compelled  to  conclude  that  the  spine  was 
buried  in  the  integuments  throughout  its  entire  length,  the  enameled  denticles 
alone  projecting  above  the  surface  to  form  a  saw,  which  would  be  a  terrible 
weapon  if  placed  upon  some  flexible  portion  of  the  body  where  it  could  be 
used  with  freedom  and  power.  The  extremity  of  the  spine  may  have  lain 
in  a  sheath,  from  which  it  could  be  partially  erected  by  muscular  action  and 
used  as  the  lancet  of  the  surgeon  fish  (Acanthurus)  is ;  but  the  bilateral 


,  1 


224 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


symmetry  of  Edestus  proves  that  if  employed  in  this  manner  it  must  have 
been  located  on  the  upper  margin  of  the  tail  or  back. 

The  segmented  structure  of  Edestus  has  led  Dr.  Woodward  to  compare 
it  witli  the  spines  of  Pelecojderus,  and  especially  with  the  pectoral  spines  of 
this  genus  described  by  Prof  E.  U.  Cope,'  but  the  synnuetry  of  Edestus 
forbids  the  acceptance  of  this  conclusion.  The  pectoral  spines  of  all  fishes 
are  unsymmetrical.  This  is  plainly  seen  in  Machceracanthus  and  Gyracan- 
thus,  and,  as  I  have  lately  shown,  in  the  pectoral  spines  of  Stethacanthus, 
{Fkijsonemus)  Altonensis.  Pelecopterus  probably'  had  dorsal  as  well  as  pec- 
toral spines,  and  a  comparison  with  them  would  be  better  grounded ;  but 
as  that  was  a  bony  iish,  the  dorsal  spines  would  have  an  articulation  at  the 
base,  and  would  have  i^'own  at  the  base  and  not  at  the  summit. 

In  the  spines  of  Trygon,  however,  we  find  a  much  closer  resemblance 
to  Edestus — one  that  seems  to  me  to  go  far  towaras  solving  the  pi'oblem  of 
the  relations  and  functions  of  these  peculiar  organs,  and  almost  decides  that 
they  are  dorsal  spines.  In  Tryyon  a  considerable  number,  sometimes  five 
or  six,  defensive  spines  are  set  in  the  place  of  the  posterior  dorsal  fin.  They 
come  into  uso  in  succession,  like  the  fangs  of  venomous  serpents.  As  the 
anterior  one  loses  its  denticles  or  becomes  worn  or  broken  it  falls  and  is 
succeeded  by  another  from  behind.  Yet  several  may  be  in  existence  and 
effective  at  the  same  time,  all  rising  from  a  common  segmented  bony  base 
which  grows  by  additions  to  its  posterior  extrennty.^ 

All  this  is  true  of  the  spines  of  Edestus  if  we  are  right  in  locating  them 
in  the  position  of  the  second  dorsal  fin  on  the  back  or  tail  of  a  Plagiostome 
fish. 

Hence,  until  further  light  shall  be  thrown  upon  the  interesting  question 
of  the  homologies  and  functions  of  Edestus,  we  may  regard  them  as  f  e  post- 
dorsal  spines  of  large  cartilaginous  fishes  of  which  the  other  parts  are  yet 
unknown,  and  may  suppose  that  they  were  used  for  attack  and  defense  like 
the  spines  of  Trygon  or  Acanthur^is. 

'  Gcol.  Survey  of  the  TerritorieH,  vol.  iJ,  p.  344  A. 

"Oil  the  tail  of  IMiobatia  radians,  Marnh,  a  fresh-water  ray  from  the  Eocene  Green  River  beds 
of  Wyoming,  I  have  seen  three  spines,  which  mnst  have  been  in  service  at  the  same  time;  and  Giinther 
(Study  of  Fishes,  p.  WO)  figures  a  group  o{ftve  spines  in  function  on  the  tail  of  AetobatU  natinari. 


*x«iiES  OF  THE  OAKBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM.  225 

EdESTUS    GIGANTEU8,    n.    Sp. 
Plate  XLI,  Fig.  1. 

Spine  very  large,  eighteen  inches  or  more  in  length  by  seven  and  a 
half  inches  in  breadth  to  top  of  denticles,  and  two  inches  in  thickness  at 
center;  form  strongly  arched,  section  spatulate  in  the  middle,  lenticular  at 
base;  lateral  surfaces  of  bony  portion  vermicularly  roughened;  segments 
narrow,  rurming  far  back,  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  wide,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  spine  ten  inches  from  summit  of  denticle  to  lower  margin  ;  den- 
ticles three  and  a  half  inches  long  by  two  and  a  quarter  inches  wide  at  base; 
triangular  in  outline,  crown  about  as  broad  as  high,  base  prolonged  back- 
ward and  downward  into  a  simjile  curved  point;  margins  set  with  fifteen  to 
eighteen  strong,  rounded,  compressed  crenulations. 

This  remarkable  spine  differs  from  the  other  species  of  the  genus  not 
only  by  its  greater  size  but  by  the  form  of  its  enameled  denticles.  It  ap- 
proaches nearest  to  Edestus  vorax,'  Leidy,  but  is  distinguished  from  that 
species  by  its  larger  size,  more  prolonged  segments,  and  especially  by  the 
outline  of  the  bases  of  the  denticles.  In  E.  vorax  the  enameled  surface  of 
the  denticles  is  nearly  horizontal  and  is  rounded  behind,  with  a  deep 
notch.  In  the  specie,  before  us,  on  the  contrary,  the  enamel  runs  down 
obliquely  backward  to  an  acute  point,  from  which  it  sweeps  upward  by 
a  gentle  curve,  forming  a  shallow  sinus,  to  the  base  of  the  posterior  row  of 
serrations. 

From  Edestus  Heinrichsi,'  N.  &  W.,  it  differs  by  its  greater  size,  more 
curved  form,  more  oblique  denticles,  and  the  shorter  posterior  point  of  the 
bajse. 

From  Edestus  minor,'  Newb.  (wrongly  named  Edestus  vomx  on  the 
page  of  explanations,  opposite  the  plate  in  Geology  of  Illinois,  volume  4),  it 
differs  in  its  much  greater  size  and  the  far  broader  and  less  decurrent  den- 
ticles, as  will  be  seen  from  the  figures  now  given,  reproduced  from  photo- 
graphs of  the  two  last-mentioned  species. 

"Geol.  Illinois,  vol.  4,  p.  350,  pi.  4,  fig.  1. 
'Ibid.,  vol.  2,  p.  84,  pi.  4,  fig.  24;  vol.  4,  pi.  1,  fig.  2. 
MON  XVI 15 


SI: 


■a 


226 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTU  AMERICA. 


Formation  and  locality:  Co«l  Measures,  Decatur,  Macon  County,. 111. 
Collected  by  Mr  II.  A.  Wheeler,  of  Washington  University,  Saint  Louis,  to 
whom  I  owe  the  opportunity  of  examining  and  describing  it. 

Ctenouus  8ERRATUS,  Newb. 

riate  XXVII,  Fig.  31. 

Ctenodus  serratvs,  N.;  Pakvontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  2,  p.  59,  pi.  58,  flgrf.  15, 16. 

Teeth  of  lower  jaw  of  medium  size,  sixteen  lines  long  by  nine  lines 
wide,  somewhat  triangular  in  outline ;  crown  marked  with  eight  prominent 
and  sharp  radiating  ridges,  which  terminate  above  in  numerous  compressed, 
acute  denticles,  the  furrows  between  the  ridges  being  pitted  to  receive  cor- 
responding denticles  of  the  opposite  teeth.  These  ridges  and  furrows  vary 
much  in  length,  so  that  the  end  of  the  tooth  forms  a  long-pointed  triangle, 
and  at  the  opposite  extremity  the  crown  is  rounded  and  the  base  projects  in 
a  depressed  and  flattened  point. 

In  general  form  and  marking  this  tooth  bears  considerable  resemblance 
to  that  of  Ct.  oUiquus  of  the  Northumberland  coal-fields,  England,  but  the 
ridges  are  more  nu-r.-ous  and  much  narrower.  From  the  larger  species  of 
Ctenodus  found  in  England,  Ct.  tuberculatns,  etc.,  it  will  at  once  be  distin- 
guished by  the  fan-like  radiation  of  its  ridges,  which  all  center  at  the  most 
prominent  point  of  the  crown.  When  in  its  perfect  condition  this  is  the 
most  elegant  species  of  the  genus  yet  discovered.  It  is  characterized  by  a 
remarkable  exactness  of  form  and  sculpture.  The  internal  margin  forms  a 
graceful  arch,  from  which  the  prominent  point  of  the  base  projects  at  the 
end  of  the  tooth  where  the  ridges  are  shortest.  The  denticles  which  crown 
the  ridges  are  much  compressed,  very  sharp,  and  somewhat  curved  outward. 
Formation  and  locality :  Coal  Measures ;  Linton,  Ohio. 

Ctenodus  Ohioensis,  Cope. 

Proi.  Fdward  Cope,  in  1874,  briefly  described  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  a  portion  of  the  cranial  bones 
of  a  species  of  Ctenodus  from  the  Coal  Measures  of  Linton,  Ohio.  He  called 
the  species  Ct.  Ohioensis,  and  illustrated  it  further  in  the  Palaeontology  of 


'44**;#,i-- 


FISHES  OF  THE  OAUBONIFEKOUS  SYSTEM. 


227 


Fia.  3.  Ctenodua  Oliioensis,  Cope.    Outlines  of  cranial  iilatesj  J 
natural  nize. 


Ohio,  volume  2,  page  410,  PI.  XLV.  I  hid  previously  obtained  a  more 
nearly  complete  cranium  of  this  fish,  and  I  now  give  below  an  outline  sketch 
of  it,  half  natural  size. 

The  reference  of  these  crania 
to  Ctenodus  is  not  based  upon  the 
discovery  of  teetli  associated  with 
them,  but  upon  their  marked  re- 
semblance to  the  crania  figured 
by  T.  P.  Barkas  in  his  Atlas  of 
Carboniferous  Fossils,  PI.  X,  Figs. 
244-246,  and  ujwn  descriptions  of 
the  remains  of  this  genus  by  Han- 
cock and  Atthey  in  the  Annals 
and  Magazine  of  Natural  History, 
and  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Tyneside  Naturalist's  Field  Club. 

On  the  preceding  pages  of  this  memoir  I  have  pointed  out  the  diffi- 
culty we  find  in  separating  Dipterus,  Ctenodus,  and  Ccratodus  by  the  teeth 
alone;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  crania,  where  available,  will  furnish  satis- 
factory distinctivf  haracters.  In  this  connection  a  comparison  of  the  figure 
of  the  tessellated  cranium  of  Dipterus,  given  by  Pander  in  his  Ctenodipte- 
rinen,  PI.  HI,  Fig.  1,  with  the  diagram  now  published,  will  be  suggestive. 
Though  very  much  alike,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  present  differences  which 
may  well  have  generic  value. 

I  will  conclude  my  remarks  on  our  Coal  Measure  fishes  with  a  few 
notes  on  species  wiiich  iiave  been  imperfectly  described  elsewhere,  or  which 
are  new  but  can  not  be  fully  described  without  more  material. 

Coelacanthus  ornatus,  Newb.  This  is  a  small  species  found  at  Linton, 
Ohio,  where  it  is  very  rare.  It  is  briefly  described  in  the  Paleontology  of 
Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  340.  Since  the  publication  of  that  volume  I  have  obtained 
several  other  specimens  and  find  that  it  may  be  readily  identified  by  its 
small  size,  relatively  large  cranial  tubercles,  and  very  thin,  delicate  scales 
on  ivhich  the  raised  lines  are  parallel  and  do  not  converge  as  in  C.  elegans  and 
C.  robiistiis. 


228 


PALEOZOIC  FISHES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


is 


CcBlacanthuH  rohustus,  Newb.  Of  this  species  no  complete,  nor  even 
good  specimens,  have  yet  been  obtained,  though  scales,  opercula,  jugulars, 
etc ,  are  common  in  the  cannel  coal  at  Linton,  Ohio.  It  was  a  foot  or  morc; 
in  length,  and  apparently  quite  distinct  from  the  smaller  species  with  which 
it  is  associated. 

Ehadinkhthys  ?  Hneatus,  Newb.  The  little  Palaconiscoid  fish  which  I 
described  in  the  Pdla;ontology  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  353,  as  Eurykpis  lineatus 
should  bo  separated  from  that  genus  and  probably  be  included  in  Rhadi- 
nichthys,  Traquair.  The  same  should,  perhaps,  be  done  with  my  Eurylepis 
corrugatus.  Both  these  differ  from  the  typical  species  of  Eurylepis,  with 
which  they  are  associated  at  Linton,  by  the  narrowness  of  their  scales  (ver- 
tically) and  the  linear  ornamentation  of  all  the  head  bones.  Li  Eurylepis 
proper  the  cranial  surface  is  always  tuberculated.  In  Eurylepis  lineatus  th  • 
scales  on  the  sides  are  quadrangular  and  about  as  high  as  long.  In  E.  cor- 
ruyatus  the  side  scales  are  about  twice  as  high  as  long.  In  both  these 
species  the  scales  are  smooth  and  polished,  and  over  the  abdominal  portions 
of  the  body  are  very  narrow ;  hence  are  more  numerous  in  each  vertical 
row  than  in  the  true  Eurylepids.  Whether  they  should  be  included  in  Dr. 
Traquair's  genus  RJiadinicJifhys  can  be  decided  only  by  a  comparison  of 
specimens,  which  has  not  yet  been  possible. 

Emtenius,  sp.  At  Linton  I  have  found  several  specimens  of  what 
Prof.  Anton  Fritsch  calls  Kammplatten.  lie  has  found  them  in  the  Upper 
Carboniferous  I'ocks  near  Stuttgart,  and  considers  them  the  cloacal  append- 
ages of  Amphibians.  Dr.  R.  II.  Traquair  obtained  them  from  the  Coal 
Measures  of  Scotland,  and  named  them  Euctenius,  supposing  them  to  be  the 
teeth  of  fishes.  They  are  well  named  Kammplatten,  for  they  are  beautiful 
little  combs  half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long,  with  exquisitely  cut  and 
polished  teeth.  Sometimes  the  comb  proper  is  attached  to  a  kind  of  handle 
as  long  as  itself;  such  specimens  resemble  minute  mandibles  of  fishes,  like 
Callognathus,  described  in  this  memoir ;  I  have  other  specimens  in  which 
the  combs  are  set  side  by  side,  as  many  as  nine  or  ten  in  a  series,  and  two 
groups  are  associated  in  the  relative  positions  of  the  palate  teeth  of  Ctenodus. 
With  these  in  view  it  will  require  strong  evidence  to  convince  me  that  these 
singular  objects  are  not  the  dental  organs  of  fishes. 


l%«!hi 


PLATES. 


Ill 


I     II 


PLATE  I. 


i 


11 


I 


i.  I 


PLATE    I. 

TlTANiniriiYS  AdAssi/.ii,  N(!wl).  (p.  133). 

Flo.  1.  '..iNul  iiortiiiii  (if  cniiiiiini  i-nil  Niipni-HcnpiilAfi;  nntside, 
2.  IiiHidK  iit'tntiiiiim  ami  Kiipru-Hcapnlas. 

Itiitli  ll;jiirr»cin«-Kr\ til  iiatnnil  hI/.c,  liiicnr. 

Cluvuliiiiil  8liiili>,  SIikIUkIiI,  Lornin  County,  Obio. 


S!!K 


• 


MONOOAA^N  avt      »UTI  I 


MOta  INQ.  CO..  N,  V. 


i 


\ 


PLATE  II. 


<>  in 


I 


PLATE    II. 

T1TANICHT11Y8  AoAbc:?!!,  Newb.  (i>.  133). 

Fio.  1.  Maudlblc,  outside. 

2.  MaiuliMo,  inside. 

TiTASiciiTiiYS  Clahkii,  No^vb.  (p.  133). 

3.  Mandible,  outside. 

4.  Jlandible,  inside. 

All  one-quarter  natural  size,  linear. 

1,  2,  Cleveland  shale,  Slieffleld,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 

3,  4,  Cleveland  shale,  Berca,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio. 


934 


iWWWBBBWJl*'.'    - 


t 


■    _ 


m. 


-r- 


'  ?■ 


PLATE   HI. 


^i[ 


ti 


HmpKHMinnp 


It 


'i 


PLATE    III. 

TiTANicnTiiYS  Clarkii,  Newb.  (p.  133). 

Fig.  1.  Ventral  f  platB. 

2.  Suborbital  plute. 

3.  Corncoid  ?. 

4.  Siipra-sciipulii  seen  from  above,  sliowinfr  condyle  of  nrticnlation  with  angle  of  cranium. 

5.  Posterior  angle  of  Lead  seen  from  ueliinil,  allowing  horizontal  socket  of  articulation  with 

Hnpra-Kcapula. 
All  one-tiftb  natural  size,  linear. 


230 


f 


'$ 


MONOQRAPH  KVI      PLATt  ' 


MOBS  CNQ    OO  .  N.  V. 


■ 


PLATE  IV. 


^  I 


U 


PLATE    IV. 

PiNlcilTiivs  Tkkukli.i,  Nowb. 

PlO.  1.  Cnuiiiiin  from  oiitBidc,  oiio-Hixtli  nntiiral  size,  linear. 
3.  C'ruiiiuiii  I'liim  iiiHidc,  oiic-Hixlli  imliiral  Nize,  lim-ar. 

TiTANiciiTHYS  Clahkii,  Newb.  (p.  133). 

3.  Suborbital  plate,  oiic-nintb  natural  size. 

TITANICHTIIYS  AOABSIZII,  Nowb.  (p.  133). 

4.  Suborbital  pinto  outHidc,  onc-Bovcntli  natural  size,  linear. 

Cleveland  sbale,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 


338 


U.  •    atOLOOICAL  lURVtV 


WONOOflAPH  IV(      t-.A19  IV 


T-        / 

w 

r  ~^^^^^HF\         "* 

jm|r\'. 

Jm^A  'V, 

• 

il 

v 

/«k 

P?^ 

"'-'4' V  1^^. 

^7 

byiim. 

M.   A.  KNtOHT,  DEL. 


MOSS  KNO.   CO..   N.  V. 


\\ 


PLATE  Y, 


PLATE   V. 


DiNiciiTiiYS  Terrklli,  Newb. 

Flos.  1,'i.  Riglit  iinil  lijl't  pi'ctoral  .spines,  naliiriil  size. 
Cleveland  sliiile,  Lorain  Connty,  Obio. 
3.  Hyoltl  f  plate,  natural  size. 

Cleveland  shale,  SliefHeld,  Ohio. 

DlNiniTEIV.S   INTKRMKDIU8,  Nowb.  (p.  152). 

4,  5.  Right  and  left  pectoral  spines,  natural  size. 
Clevolaud  Bbale,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


wmBsmmmBBsmem 


■^aa^i^H 


U.   ».   oeOLOOICAL  fi'jRVEV 


M     MOl  I  |i"K   «  M     A.   ttmnuj,  OfL. 


MONOORAPM  XVI      PLATE  V 


PLATE  VI. 


i 


HON    XVI 16 


.. 


^* 


PLATE    VI, 


DiNiciiTHYs  Tkrrklli,  Nowb. 


F1O8.  1,  1».  Jugular  i)lateH,  one  half  natural  size. 

2,  2°.  Post-clavicular  1  platOH,  oiiu-half  natural  size. 
All  from  Cleveland  Hbalc,  SbutBold,  Obio. 


242 


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


u.  •.  oenioQicAL  tunviv 


.viW^IVVlP." 


H0f«0ailA»H  XVI      PLAT!  VI 


i|PlfPll,lLll|l.J,JII.IJI 


PLATE   VII. 


il 


PLATE   VII. 

DiNicHTnvs  Teuhklu,  Nowb. 

Fig.  1.  Fin  rays, 

1«.  Drtached  ray. 

It"   7  iiiuavorso  s'ictioii  of  1". 

2.  5.V0  capsule,  side  viow. 

5f».  Eyo  capsule  seen  from  uliovi'. 

All  uatural  sizf.     Clcvolaiul  shale,  Sheffleld,  Ohio. 

DivicnTiiYS  connuoATUS,  Newb.  (p.  l.')l). 

3.  Anterior  portion  of  nianilihle  from  inside. 
3».  Outride  of  Fis-  ^• 

4.  DiUffrain  of  h'ns  of  eyo  of  salmon  enlarged,  after  Owen. 

Cleveluud  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 


244 


U.   8.   QEOLOOICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  XVI     PLATE  VII 


3ft 


'*.  HOLLIOM   "i  ¥..   A.  KNIQHT.  DtL. 


MOU  KNa.  CO.,  N.V. 


) 


r 


^Ain'i^fair'iaMtHrrftiitiifMf^i'r'- 


ii  i$u21»^Btfi< 


ju.      tii4|i!|i|i,i(i  I 


iJMWiafclwllli  inn  »iiiftm  li 


i 


PLATE  VIII. 


1 


PLATE   VIII. 


Dixiciiiiivs  MINOR,  Newb.  (p.  149). 

Fig.        1.  DoFHal  .sliii'ld  from  abovo. 

'i.  Dorsal  sliicld  hhIi'  vit-w. 

:!.  Siipra-occipilal  boiic,  outside. 

4.  Supra-occipital  bone,  inside. 

5.  Maiiiliblc,  outside. 

6.  Mandible,  inside. 

7,  8.  ProMiaxillary  tooth,  front  and  side  views. 

All  uaturul  size.    Cleveland  shale,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 


4 


246 


L. 


PLATE   IX. 


Mi. 


3-t_P»»TT",tJ«^>T      •■ 


T 


PLATE   IX. 

DINICIITHY8  GOULDII,  (p.  150). 

FlO.  1.  Circle  of  Hclorotic  [iliites. 

2.  Pi'uiiiiixillary  tooth. 

3.  Siipra-scapula,  outHidc. 

4.  Suborbital  plato,  oiitHido,  natural  size. 

5.  Anterior  lixtrcniity  of  inaudible. 

Cleveland  shale,  Berea,  Ohio. 


S48 


U.   S.   QEOLOOtCAL  SURVEV 


MONOOHAPH  KVt      WlATt  IX 


V-    I 


s^A  ^iz^b^^mi- 


PLATE  X. 


I 

4 


i 


.a> 


^:^'^o. 


e.MAGE  EVALUATrON 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


V 


^fj.. 


lA 


% 


11.25 


12.5 

am    ~ 

£  Itf   110 


L£  116 


Photograohic 
.Sciences 
Corporation 


^^ 


^J«. 


33  WEST  MAIN  STRECT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  143tO 

(716)  872-4SC3 


'^ 


1 


PLATE   X. 

DlNICHTHYS  INTEUMEDIUS,   Newb.  (p.  152). 

FlQ.  1.  Mandible,  inside  ^  iew. 
2.  Mandible,  outside  view. 
Half  natnral  size. 
Cleveland  abate,  Shefllold,  Loraiu  Co,,  Ohio. 


250 


W^WBPIF 


PLATE   XI, 


•t 


PLATE   XI. 

DlPLOGNATHUB  MIRAtllLIS,  Newb.  (p.  159). 

Fig.  1.  Right  dentary  bone,  outside. 
2.  Right  dontary  houe,  inside, 
y.  Right  dentary  hone,  from  above. 

4.  Left  dentary  bono  of  another  individnai,  seen  from  inside  aud  showing  deep  pit  for  insertion 
of  ligament  at  symphysis. 
All  two-thirds  natural  size.    Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio, 


253 


1 


'*vi:; . '- 


i 


PLATE   XII. 


<w<~ 


PLATE   XII. 

DlPLOaNATllUS  M1RAD1LI8,  Newb.  (p.  159). 

FiQ.  1.  Anterior  lialf  tf  ileiitary  bone,  iusido,  sbowtng  pit  for  ligament  at  sympbyBia. 

2.  Same  npo«iiin'ii,  wen  from  above. 

3.  Same  HiHiciinoii,  .st-  -i  from  outside. 

All  natural  size.    Cleveland  abale,  SbeffieUl,  Obio. 


254 


■  rW^'  J'^^TT^  TTT"^ 


u.  •.  otOLoaicAL  lunvrv 


MONOOHAPH  XVI     PlATI  Nil 


J 


i! 


PLATE  XIII. 


-: 


.1\       'ift': 


PLATE    XIII. 

Gi.YPTASPls  VEUUUCosus,  Newb.  (p.  158). 

Fig.  1.  '^''ontrometlian  plate,  one-half  natural  size. 

2.  Lateral  plate  from  dorsal  f  surface,  natural  size. 

Mylostoma  vauiabilis,  Newb.  (p.  165). 

3, 4.  Upper  palate  teeth,  natural  size. 
5.  Crown  of  peculiar  inferior  conical  tooth,  natural  size. 
Al!  from  Cleveland  shale,  Sheflleld,  Ohio. 


256 


r 


U.  B.  OEOLOQICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  XVI      PLATE  XIM 


u. 


PLATE   XIY. 


MON    XVI- 17 


if 


P  L  A  T  E   X I V. 

MYI.08T0MA  Tehrelli,  Nowb.  (p.  164). 

Fio.  1.  Side  view  of  anterior  portion  of  dentary  bone. 
2.  Top  view  of  anterior  portion  of  dentary  bone. 

All  natural  tize.    Clovoland  sliale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 


258 


U.  8.  oeOLOOICAL  lURVCV 


MONOOOAPH  XVI      PLATE  XIV 


PLATE  XV. 


PLATE    XV. 

Mylostoma  variabilis,  Newb.  (p.  165). 

Figs.  1,2,3.  Dififerent  views  of  uiandilmlar  tooth. 

4-5".  Side  and  vertical  viows  of  palafo  teetli. 

Ml  natural  size.    Clovclat-d  sLale,  SLeffleld,  Ohio. 


260 


=V^ji?s'/«-'i.«»«yj«:i«saw.'.i, 


u.  t.  oioLoaiCAL  auRvr^Y 


UONOQRAPH  XVI      PLATt  XV 


%'."^f-s^w"'"JWffl!p; 


PLATE   XVI. 


PLATE    XVI. 

MYLOSToriA    YARIAIIILIH,  Nowb.  (|).  165). 

F1O8.  1,2.  Side  and  top  vlewn  of  untiru  dwiitary  bone,  natural  hizo. 
;i.  Dental  plate  ofanothur  individual,  Huen  I'roin  uliovo. 

4.  Poir  of  triangular  tpntli.  probobly  from  niiderjaw,  and  located  anterior  to  Figs.  1,2. 
All  natural  size     Cleveland  nhale,  Loraiu  County,  OLio. 


262 


^tttla^»i>fimi9\mi^«emm»M 


I,    ulOLOOtCAl  tUNvl< 


monooha^h  iv<     PiAfi  avi 


M.  A.  KMIOHT,  OIL. 


MOM  tN«.  00.1  H,  V. 


\T/ 


PLATE   XVII. 


Fig. 


PLATE   XVII. 

noLO.VKMA  RU008A,  Claypolo  (gp.),  (p.  93). 
Lateral  plate  of  plastron  T ,  natural  size. 

Central  plate  of  plastron  T,  half  natural  size.  ,        •• 

Portion  of  central  plate  of  carapace  f,  natural  size. 
Portion  of  lateral  plate  of  carapace  ?,  natural  size. 
All  from  Chemung  group  of  southwestern  New  York  and  northwestern  Pennsylvania. 


264 


U.  8.  OEOLOQICAL  8URVEV 


MONOGRAPH  XVI      PLATE  XVII 


m 


PLATE  XVIII. 


J 


TLATE   XVIII. 


1 


Gltptopomus  Sayrki,  Newb.  (p.  llfi). 

Fio.  1.  Head  and  anterior  portion  of  body,  under  side,  showing  two  jngiilnr  plates  and  fonr  lateral 
jnjinliirs  ;  also  lobato  pt'ctoral  llns.  On  the  Hanio  slab  are  seen  portions  of  two  other  indi- 
vidnals  of  the  same  species.     Half  natural  nizo. 

Catskill  Kronp,  Susquehanna  River,  near  mouth  of  Mohopany. 

BOTIIRIOI.EPIS  Leidyi,  Newb.  (p.  111). 

2.  Portion  of  anterior  lateral  body  plate,  outside,  natural  size. 

Catskill  Kroup,  Maiisliold,  Tio};a  County,  Pa. 

Heliodus  Lesievi,  Newb.  (p.  86). 

3.  U.per  dental  plate. 

Chemung  rocks,  northern  Pennsylvania. 

GYRACANTHU8  Sherwoodi,  Newb,  (p.  119). 

4.  Denuded  spine,  natural  size. 

4".  Portion  of  side,  showing  ornamentation.  . 

4''.  Section. 

Green  Catskill  Sandstone,  Lamb's  Creek,  Tioga  County,  Pa. 


886 


I 


U.  ft.  OCOLOaiCAL  BURVCV 


MONOQRAPH  XVI      PLATf  XVIII 


' 


M.  A.  ».NtaHT,  DtL. 


MOM  INO.  OO..  N,  V. 


^^mm^^^mmmimmi^^ 


PLATE   XIX. 


PLATE    X  I  X. 

Onvciiohuh  OiiioM,  Nowh.  (p.  71). 

'^10.  li  Iiitoritinrulibiiliir  lioiio,  with  tcolli,  nidn  view. 

l».  Soutiiiii  111'  Miimii. 

Huron  dhulo,  IVrry,  Frmiklin  County,  Ohio. 

0ANOUIIYN0IIU8    ItKKCIIKRI,  N«wl».  (p.  05). 

S.  Labiul  margin  of  tipporjHW. 

Chninung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 

Antmoi)i:s  AiiciJATtis,  N.  &.  W.  (p.  208). 

3.  Tootli,  oiitni(le. 

4.  JnHJili)  view  of  largflr  Hpecitnen. 

Saint  Louis  liiuostono,  Oreoncaatle,  Ind, 

Poi.YiinizoDrs  LiTTONi,  N.  &  W.  (p. 209). 

6,6,6».  Tooth,  outside,  inNidu  and  section. 
,     .  Oreencastle,  Ind. 

P8AMM()DU8  OLYPTUS,  St.  J.  &  W.  (p.  210). 

7,8.  Teeth,  upper  surface. 
Orcenc.Tstle,  Ind. 

"  LABOnUS  MAR0INATU9,  Newl).  (p.  198). 

9.  Palate  tooth,  crown  surface. 
Greencastlc,  Ind. 

DlNlCUTIIYS,  gp.  t 

10, 10«,  lOb.  Three  views— front,  rear,  and  prolile— of  premaxillary. 

PHYLL0LKP18   DELICATULA,  Newb.  (p.  97). 

11.  Scale  or  scute,  natural  size. 

Chemung  group,  Bradford  Connty,  Pa. 

Hoi.oPTYcinu8  AMKRICANU8,  Leidy  (p.  113). 
12, 13.  Scales,  natural  size. 

Catskiil,  Tioga  Connty,  Pa. 

HoLoPTYcnius  TUBKRCULATU9,  Newb.  (p.  101). 
14.  Scale,  natural  size. 

Chemung  group,  Leroy,  Pa. 

HOLOPTYCIUCS  GIGANTEU8  f  ,  Ag.  (p.  101). 
15, 16.  Scales,  natural  size. 

Catskiil,  Tioga  County,  Pa. 

Ohthoplecrodus  cabbonarius,  N.  aw.  (sp.)  (p.  200). 
17.  Terminal  tooth,  upper  surface,  natural  size. 
Coal  Measures,  Carlinville,  111. 

968 


I 


u.  •.  aioLoatoAk  aunviv 


MONOaRAPH  KVI      PLATI  KIN 


A-    HOLLICK    It  M.    *     KNIGHT,   DEl, 


MO«S  ENQ.  CO..  N,  f. 


i.- 


i 


PLATE  XX, 


PLATE    XX. 

BOTIIRIOLEPIS   ],EII)TI,  Newl).  (p.  111). 

Fig.  1.  Pectoral  Ri)iuo  atul  iiiNulo  of  left  anterior  ventral  plate. 

ii.  Narrow  prctoral  .spiuo. 

;!.  Head  with  diiiiib-lK'H  aperture. 

4.  Dorsal  scute,  oulsiilo. 

5.  Dorsal  scute,  piirtiall,v  ilenuded,  showiug  keol  of  under  surface. 

BOTHRIOLEPIS  MlNOIl,  Newb.  (p.  112). 

6-8.  Scutes,  up]ier  and  lower  surfaces. 
Cliemuii};  group,  Leroy,  Pa. 

HOLOPTYCIIIUS  OKANULATl  8,  Newb.  (p.  100). 

9.  Scale,  outside. 

HoLol'TYCUii:s  IIallii,  Newb.  (p.  114). 
10, 10».  Scales,  natural  size  and  enlarged. 

HoLoi'TYc'iiirs  PUHTL'LOSUS,  Newb.  (p.  100). 
11,  U".  Scales,  outside  and  inside. 

HOLOPTYCHIUS  BADI*.TU8,  Nowb.  (p.  115). 

13-14.  Scales,  natural  size.  ; 

Catskill  group,  Blossbnrgh,  Pa. 

SpiiENOPiionrs  Lilleyi,  Newb.  (p.  02). 

15.  Clavicie?. 

Cbeiuuug  group,  Bradford  County,  Pa. 


910 


U.  a.  OEOLOOICAL  SURVEV 


MONOQRAPH  XVI      PLATE  XX 


M.  A,  KNIOHT,  DEI. 


WOtt  tNQ.  CO..  N,  V. 


HBHB* 


PLATE    XXI. 


PLATE    XXI. 

Mazodus  Keplebi,  Newb.  (p.  180). 

Fios.  1-a.  Teeth,  all  niiturjl  size.  ' 

Berea  shale,  Beroa,  Ohio. 

IlKTERA'-ANTHUS   P0LITU8,  Newb.  (j).  66). 

4,r).  Siiinmit  ami  base  of  spims  n-.tural  size. 
4«.  Portion  of  anterior  snrfnco  enUrjiel  to  show  sinuous  furrows. 
Hamilton  liinestoue,  Milwaul:ue,  Wis. 

Sandai.odus  chassus,  N.  &.  W.  (p.  204). 

6.  Con)i)lete  tooth,  showing  posterior  produced  augle. 

7.  Tooth,  nsniil  lorni. 

6.  Tooth,  showiiii;  orowu  much  worn  by  use. 

All  natural  size.     Saint  Louis  limestone,  Saint  Louis,  Mo, 

Cladodus  coscixnds,  Newb.  (p.  170). 

9, 10.  Teeth  of  avtiraso  sizo,  posterior  facK;  Fig.  10  showing  central  cone  much  worn. 
Clevelanil  shale,  Lorain  Co'inty,  Ohio. 

HaUPACAJJTIIUS  F1MBRIATU8,  Stock,   (p.  203). 

11.  Spine. 

Saint  Louis  limestone,  Alton,  111. 
11».  Spine,  from  drawing  l>y  Dr.  R.  H.  Traquair. 
Lower  Carboniferous,  Scotland. 

Phtsonbmus  stellatus,  Newb.  (p.' 200). 

12.  Spine,  side  view,  natural  size. 

Saint  Louis  iimestouo,  Greencastlo,  lud. 

272 


msm 


u.  a.  oeoloqicai.  auflviv 


MONOORAPH  KVI      Pt-ATE  XXI 


M,  A,  KNIOHT,  DIL. 


MOIS  KNQ.  CO.,   N,  V. 


i 


f* 


PLATE  XXII. 


MON  XVI 18 


PLATE    XXII. 

Arch^obatus  aiGAS,  Newb.  (p.  194). 
Fig.  1.  Auterior  tooth,  natural  size, 
a.  Second  tontli,  natural  size. 
a.  Outlines  of  ilie  four  teeth  represented  on  Pla.  XXII  and  XXIII,  constituting  part  of 

Diar^rinal  row  with  ends  of  an  interior  row,  seen  from  above, reduced. 
4.  Protile  of  same  series,  reduced. 

Saint  Louis  limoatoue,  Oreeucastle,  Ind. 

m 


li 
11 


u.  t.  olOLooiCAL  iunvfv 


MONOGRAPH  KVI      PLATI  XXK 


M.  A.  KHIQHT,   DEL. 


MOSS  CNQ.  00..  N,  V. 


UHlllil 


I 


PLATE   XXIII. 


liipflL,Dip4ll 


I'IBWJB  W ' 


r 


PLATE    XXIII. 

ABCH.KOI1ATI8   tllOAS,  Nowb.  (p,  194). 

FlOS.  1,2.    Third  and  fourth  t«eth  of  oerie»  represented  on  PI,  XXII. 

3.  End  view  of  Hecond  tooth,  natural  size. 

GreencAstle,  Ind. 

CTKNACANTIIL'8  C0MPRE88U8,  Newb.  (p.   108). 

4,  Spine,  basal  portimi,  natural  size. 
4*.  Section  at  iiiid<'.ie. 

4''.  Ornaniflntatinn  cnlarKod. 

Cleveland  shale,  Shefflold,  Ohio. 

Gyhacantiius  inounati'8,  Nowb.  (p.  177). 
6.  Spine,  NUMiniit,  much  worn. 

Cuyahoga  shale  (Waverly),  Knox  County,  Ohio. 

276 


T 


u.  t.  dfoinaicAL  Aunvffv 


MnNOONA^H  IVl       PtATf  lilHI 


M.  *.  KNIOMT,  Dtl 


MOSS  fNQ.  00.,  N,  V. 


PLATE   XXIY. 


!! 
1 
i 


PLATE    XXIV. 

Stetiiacantius  Altonensis,  St.  J.  &.  W.  (sp.)  (p.  198). 

Fl(!S.  1,  2.  Pectoral  spine;  views  of  opposite  side-s  of  same  specimen,  showing  diiference  of  breadth. 
Natural  size.    Saint  Louis  limestone,  Alton,  111. 


878 


U.   8.   OEOLOOICAL  SUfl^FY 


MONOORAPM  XVI      PIATF  XXIV 


M.   A,  KNIOHT,  Olt. 


MOSS  INQ,  CO..  N.V. 


- 

1 

-i 

3 

i 

I 

PLATE  XXV. 


^i! 


.i 


PLATE    XXV. 

Stetiiacanthus  tumidus,  Newb.  (p.  198). 

Fio.  1.  Spine,  natural  size. 

ISeri'ji  grit,  Berea,  Ohio, 

2.  Spine  witli  tin  attached,  side  view,  half  natural  size,  slightly  restored  from  impression  in  shale 

ovor  grit. 
Berea,  Oliio. 
2*.  Spine  Nu.  2  seen  from  above,  half  natural  size. 

Ctknacanthus  Littoni,  Newb.  (p.  201). 

3.  Spine,  base  and  part  of  ornamented  surface,  natural  size. 

Saint  Louis  litnestone,  Saint  Louis,  Mo. 

ASTEKOI'TVOlllUS   EI.KOANS,  Ncwb.  (p.  170). 

4.  Spine,  natural  size. 

Waverly  sandstone.  Grindstone  City,  Mich. 

HoPLONCHUS  FARVULU8,  Newb.  (p.  170). 

5.  Spine,  natural  size. 

Cleveland  shale,  Bedford,  Ohio.  ' 

ACONOYLACANTUUS  OCCIUENTALI8,  N.  &  W.,  sp.   (p.  206). 

6.  Spine,  natural  size. 

Saint  Louis  limestone,  Alton,  111, 


1 


S80. 


-      !| 


■«7"i,""™'ai'w-i?«"!wy'  ma^i'-"  '»j«^'p'< 


1 


PLATE  XXVI. 


' 


PLATE    XXVI. 

CTENACANTnt'S  CVLINDKIOUS,  Newb.  (p.  202). 

Fig.       I.  iSplne,  natural  size ;  view  of  anterior  face. 
1",  1''.  Sections. 

Keokuk  group,  Kentucky. 

Ctknacantiius  Clarkii,  Newl).  (p.  168). 

Flos.  2, 3.  Spine,  natural  size ;  views  of  opposite  sides  of  same  speoimeD, 
2^2^  Sections. 

Cleveland  sbale,  Berea,  Ohio. 


FlO. 


282 


Ctknacantiius  Wuioiitii,  Newb.  (p.  66). 

4,  Spine,  natural  size;  side  view. 
4°.  Section  near  snuiniit, 
4''.  Ornanieiitiition  enlarged. 

Hamiltou  group,  Yates  County,  N.  Y. 


U.  •.  MUIOOICAL  IUf(Vt\ 


MONtKtKAPH  ICVI      ClATt  KXVt 


HOiL<CK  *  M.   *■  KHigMT,  OIL. 


MOSS  INS.  CO..  N,  V 


ffiMip  w '  -,  rmf  ap  vfliW,!' 


PLATE   XXVII. 


I    ! 

1 


'i  < 


FlQ.        1. 


3,4. 

5. 6.  {)»,  7. 

8,9. 

10. 

11-15. 

10, 17. 

18. 

19,  SO. 

21,21°. 

22,2.x 

"     24,25. 

26. 

27-a8». 

2l>. 

30. 

31,  :n°. 

32, 32'>. 
33. 


PLATE   XXVII. 

Petrodub  Buttkrsii,  Newb. 
Dermal  tnherclfis. 
Group  of  united  tubercles.    Coal  Measures,  Carliuville,  111. 

Cladodus  concinnus,  Newb.  (p.  70). 
Teeth  of  small  form,  with  two  and  four  lateral  denticles.     Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 

Cladodus  Tekrelu,  Newb.  (p.  170). 
Teeth.    Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 

Cladodus  tumidus,  Newb.  (p.  172). 
Tooth,  poatOTior  face  and  base.    Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 

CLADODrs  U0Mi.\(iEni,  Newb.  (p.  177). 
Tooth,  posterior  face.    Waverloy,  GrindNtone  City,  Mich. 

GoNiODiis  Hertzeih,  Newb.  (p.  69). 
Teeth  of  various  forms.    Huron  shale,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

Calloonathus  8EiiUATi:s,  Newb.  (p.  70). 
Deutary  bone.     Cleveland  shale,  Loraiu  County,  Ohio. 

CaLLOONATHUS   RE0CLAH18,    Nowb.  (p.  70). 

Dentary  bone.    Huron  shale,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

Ctdnodus  (DiiTERus)  Nelsoni,  Newb.  (p.  89). 
Teeth.    Chemung  i^roup,  Wiirren,  I'a, 

CTENODUS   (DlPTKRCS)  FLADBLLIFORMIS,  Newb.  (p.  90). 

Teeth,  large  and  Buiall  forms.    Chemung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 

Ctenodus  (Diptekus)  LEVIS,  Newb.  (p.  90). 
Teeth.    Chemung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 

CTBNODUS  (DlPTERUS)  QUADRATH8,  Newb. 

Teeth.    Chemung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 

Ctenddus  fDii-TERUs)  MiNUTus,  Newb.  (p.  91). 
Tooth.    Chemung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 

PutEBODUS  POLITU8,  Newb.  (p.  173). 
Tooth ;  pos+oric  r  face  and  base.     Cleveland  shale,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 

OrODUS   RA.M08U8,  Ag.  (p.  .05). 

Tooth.     Waverly,  Grindstone  City,  Mich. 

Ctenodus  Waonbri,  Newb.  (p.  172). 
Tooth.     Cleveland  shale,  Clei'elaad,  Ohio. 

Ctenodu.s  skrratcs,  Newb.  (p.  226). 
Tooth ,  upper  surfara  and  profile.     Coal  Measures,  Linton,  Ohio. 

DiPTKRUs  (Ctenodus)  Siierwoodi,  Newb.  (p.  118). 
Lower  tooth,  upper  surface  and  (irolile.    Catskill  group,  Tioga  County,  Pa. 

DipTEitus  (Ctenom's)  radiatus,  Newb.  (p.ll9). 
Tooth.    Catskill  gro  ip,  Tioga  County,  Pa. 


^^4 


U.  8.  OEOLOQICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  XVI      PLATE  XXVII 


PLATE   XXVIII. 


PLATE    XXVIII. 

RnYNcnoDUS  skcans,  Newb.  (p.  47). 

Fill.     1.  Left  maxillary  tooth,  showing  iusUlc  of  cuttiug  edge. 
1".  Section. 
2, 3.  Upper  aud  lower  beak-teoth  in  their  relative  positions. 

Rhynchodi's  cra«'!U8,  Newb.  (p.  41)). 

4.  Left  inferior  tooth,  showing  inside  aud  triturating  surface.    Pigs.  1-4,  natural  size. 
Coruiferous  limestone,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

Ctenacanthus  VETU8TD8,  Newb. 
5, 5^.  Side  view  and  sections. 

Cleveland  shalo,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 


2SC 


U.    8.   OEOLOOICAL  flURVEV 


MONOGRAPH  XVI      PLATF  XXVril 


M.    A.  KHiaHl,   DIL. 


MOSS  ENQ.  CO.,   N,  V. 


PLATE   XXIX. 


!! 


PLATE    XXIX. 


Kir.   1 

1» 


2. 

a". 


6. 
6». 


HlIYNCHODUS  KXCAVATL'S,  Nowb.  (p.  50). 

Ltift  lower  tootli,  natural  size. 

Hamilton  group,  Btuwu  l)eer,  Wis. 
Section,  . 

Rhynchodus  franoens,  Nowb.  (p.  48). 

Lower  left  deutal  plate,  outHide  view,  natural  sizn, 
.  Triturating  face  of  Fig.  2. 

Cornifuroug  limestune,  Delaware,  Ohio. 
Solid  triturating  angle  of  right  lower  dental  plate,  iuHide  view,  nivturai  size. 

Corniferons  limestone,  Kelley's  Island,  Luke  Erie. 

MACiiKiiACANxnus  MA.FOK,  Newb.  (p,  ;iO). 

Short  and  robust  peutoral  spine,  upper  side,  natural  size. 
Section  of  Name. 

Cornifurous  limestone,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

Mach.kracanthus  sclcatus,  Newb.  (p.  40). 

Pectoral  spine,  under  side,  natural  size. 
Section  of  same. 

Corniferous  limestone,  Canada. 

Macu^racantiiu8  pkbacutus,  Newb.  (p.  38). 
Pectoral  spine,  upper  surface. 
Section. 

Coroiierous  limestone,  Delaware,  Ohio. 


; 


I 


_       ■  I.  '  .»  ■ 


U.   I.   OIOLOOICAL  lunVEV 


MONOORAPH  KVI      PLATE  XXtX 


M.  A.  KNtOHT,  DEL. 


MOBS  ENQ.  00..  N.  V. 


T 


-L  J^jzL  X  Jjj     JL.J\.JL., 


MON  XVI 19 


I 


PLATE    XXX. 

Abterostki'h  sTKNOCKPiiAU's,  Kewb.  (p.  44). 

Fio.   1,  Cronlnm  nvflii  frnm  iilxivn,  oiitliiiH  ciiiii|ile(iMl  from  another  apeoimeu,  natural  alee. 
Curuiferuii.s  liiuetttono,  SiiniliiNky,  Ohio. 

CoccognsDB  OCCIDKNTALI8,  Newb.  (p.  Oil). 

'i.  DorHoiiimliun  pliilo. 
'^■.  Ventroincdiuu  plflto,  iiiHido.  . 

CoCCOaXBUS  DECIi'IRNX,  Ag. 

3.  DorNoinetlian  plato. 
4,4*.  Veiitrom«(lian  plato,  oiitaiile  ami  iiiMiile  vinwH. 
Devonian  liiuc8toni>,  8coMiinil. 


Mandible. 


LlOON*THf8  SPATULATDS,  Newb.  (p.  52). 


WO 


^T" 


U.  •■  MOlOOiCAl  auNVlv 


wnhoanAPH  vvi    »lati  mhk 


MOM  INO.  OO..  N.  V. 


I 


PLATE  XXXI. 


PLATE    XXXI. 

ACANTHASPIH   ARMATU8,  Newb.  (p.  36), 

Fios.  1,9,3.  Coplmlic  plates,  bfiiiring  R|iiue. 
2'.  '  iimiiu'iitiitioii,  oiil;ir(f<>i}. 
4.  ('c|iliali<'  plulo,  inKiili',  iiiifurnl  Hizc. 

Curiii'Broiis  liiiii'stniie,  Deluwiiri',  Ohio. 

AcANTHOLKPis  I  usTfi.osrs,  Newb.  (p.  33). 

5, 5°.  Two  lateral  Nciites  in  natural  position,  showing  onter  surface,  natnral  iiize, 
.')K  Four  senti'S  in  relative  position,  ninch  reduced. 
CornifiroiiH  liinestor.e,  .Saruiusky,  Ohio. 


292 


'TT^^*r7?vr-T37- - 


rff(wwwj^>vu^»),  i:v 


immm 


■■i 


.m 


PLATE   XXXII. 


PLATE    XXXII. 

DiNiciiTHYs  Teurf.lu,  Newb. 
Fig.  1.  Premaxillary  tooth,  natural  gizo.    Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 

IIINICIITIIYS  llEUT/Eiu    Newb.  (p.  <')4). 

2.  Premaxillary  tooth,  natural  size.     Huron  shale,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

DlNlCHTlITS  TrBERCUI.ATL-8,  Newb.  (p.  98). 

3.  Supra-scapula,  natural  size.    Chemung  group,  Warren,  Pa. 


984 


•  i 

-i  1 

II 

V 


m 


PLATE   XXXIII 


'■& 


/ 


P  L  A  'I'  K    X  X  X  1  I  I . 

DiNiiriTiiY.H  Tkuhklm,  Newli. 

rimide  view  of  anterior  portion  of  ri^lit  niiin(lil)l<',  vcrv  lar)!;(i  and  nmoli  worn  by  nse;  a  frag- 
ment brokfn  otf  by  violence  iintl   fonnd  Imried  in   the  Hoft  ciirlioniiccoiis  mud  which  ouce 
formed  the  Hpa  bottom,  iiiid  it*  now  the  Cleveland  xhale,  nutural  nize, 
ShelHeld,  Lorain  County,  Ohio. 


396 


//       I 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  145S0 

(716)  872-4503 


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PLATE   XXXIV. 


i 


R^nin 


^H 


PLATE    XXXIV. 

GoNATODDs  Brainkrdi,  Thomas  (sp.)- 

Fig.  1.  Entire  fish,  side  view,  natural  size. 

Horea  grit,  Indeppudence,  Cuyahoga  Connty,  Ohio. 

2.  Kntiro.  fish,  allowing  dorsal  snrfacp,  natural  size. 

Bt'rea  grit,  Chagrin  Falls,  Ohio. 

ONYC'iionrs  sic.moidks,  Nowb.  (p.  56). 

3.  Maxillary,  natural  '^ize. 

Corniferoua  limesto^fi,  L'«-l"iwaio,  Ohio. 


S9B 


i  i 

t    s 


„ 


U.   S.   OEOLOOICAL   SURVrv 


M.  A.  KNIQHT,  DtL. 


PMIWIJPM'I    liig.l 


IffgT'il^-ViW.J- 


in 


MONOQRAPH  XVI      PLATE  XXXIV 


^1^ 


MOSS   tNO.   00.,  N.  V. 


■i 


PLATE  XXXV. 


'  < 


PLATE   XXXV. 

CCELOSTKUH    KKIIOX,  N>wl).  (p.  190). 

Flo.  1.  Deiitary  Ixme,  innidi?. 

2.  Dciitiir.v  limiB,  ou'  ido. 

3.  Di'iitary  bone,  upper  side. 

4.  Weathered  section  of  tooth,  Hhowing  ])licatioiis  nt  base. 

All  untural  size.     Saitit  Louis  limestone,  Alton,  111. 


300 


u    t.  nroLOOiCAt  lunviv 


t'  I 


M.   A,  KNIOHT.  OtL. 


MONOQUAPM  IVI      PLATt  HHIV 


MOU  INQ.  CO.,  N,Y 


PLATE  XXXVI. 


PLATE    XXXVl. 

OXYCHODUS   8IGM01DE8,    Newb.  (p.  56). 

FlO.       1.  Dentary  bone,  inner  surface,  natural  size. 
1»  l"".  Scales,  inner  ami  outer  surfaces. 

2.  Dentary  bone,  outer  surface,  showing  crest  of  iuterniandibular  teeth  in  positioD, 

natural  size. 
2».  Ornamentation  of  outer  surface,  enlarged. 

3.  Internianilibular  arcii  of  small  irulivijual. 

4.  Deutury  bone  of  small  individual,  outside. 
4».  Cross-section  of  4. 

All  from  Coruiferous  limestone,  Delaware,  Ohio. 


ii02 


u.  •.  oiOLOoicAi.  (unviv 


. 


. 


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^^■fi^^l 

^  •  % 


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MONOORfPH  XVI      PLATE  XXXVI 


■'3*-' 


.ft-' 


PLATE   XXXVII, 


t 


PLATE    XXXVII. 

OxYCnODUH  8I(;M0IDE8,  Newb.  (p.  56). 
Figs.  1,  -i.  Jugular  plutos. 

;<,  Eiiriro  frontal  plate. 

4.  Ant«ri„r  half  „f  tw„  frontalg,  in  position. 

5.  Siipra-teniporal  plate. 

■       C.  OperculiiMi,  inside.  ,         ,  ,- 

7.  Clavicle,  inside. 

8.  Parietal  f ,  inside. 

9.  Siilinpereuliini  f ,  ontsido. 

10.  Snlopercnlnni  f  ,  inside. 

11.  Oporeuliini  of  small  individnal,  ontside 

All  f.^nres,  except  1),  half  natnial  size. 
Corniterous  limcstouc,  Delaware,  Ohio. 


ao« 


WMIiliMI 


/ 


U.    •.   QIOLOOICAL  lunvET 


■%''&0: 


•■r    sM-i.  -,r 


^fWik^ 


M.   A.  KNIOHT,  OCL. 


MONOOnAPH  KVI      Pl^^t  xHNVU 


MOSB  CNQ.   CO  .   N,  V. 


PLATE  XXXVIII. 


MON  XVI 80 


PLATE    XXXVIII. 

Macropktalichthys  SiLuvANTi,  Nowb.  (p.  27). 

Fig.  1.  Inside  of  crauiiiiii,  natiirni  Hizo. 

2.  Side  view  of  cr.imiiin,  outside. 
2'.  Ornamentation,  enlarged. 

ASPIDICHTHVS  CLAVATL'S,  Newl).  (p.  73). 

3.  Dorsoniedian  shield,  one-fourth  natural  size,  linear. 

4.  Portion  of  dorsal  shield,  drawn  natural  size  to  show  tnberculation. 


m 


^ 


U.   8.   GEOLOOtCAL  8URVEV 


^y'm 


M.  A,  KNIQHT,  OIL. 


' 


PLATE   XXXIX 


PLATE    XXXIX. 


1 


Edestus  minor,  Newb.  (p.  225). 

FlQ.    1.  Doi'ttl  Hpine,  side  view,  natural  size. 
1*.  Section,  natural  aizp. 

Coal  Mcasurt-H,  I'ark  County,  Ind. 

Edksti's  Heinriciisi,  N.  it  W.  (p.  a25). 

2.  Doral  spine,  side  viev,  natural  si/e. 
2».  Young  spine  with  sin^^li)  denticle. 
2''.  Sheuthing  sogmcut  carrying  denticle. 

Coal  Measures,  Vermillion  County,  Ind.,  and  Bellevilie,  III, 


308 


i 


u.  a.  oEOLOoiOAL  sunviv 


MONOORAPM  KV(      PLATI  XXXIH 


*-    *  V^-WWW-'BP'Wii 


PLATE   XL, 


,, 


PLATE    XL. 

EDBSTim   OIOANTBUH,  Nuwb.  (p.  225). 

liiuial  lialf  of  gpinp,  sidfi  view,  natural  size. 
Coal  MeaHiirof),  Dovatnr,  III, 


no 


„ 


I 


U.    S.   OEOLOQICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  r  V(      PLATf  XL 


MOU  ina.  GO..  N,  V, 


A 


t 


PLATE   XLI. 


I 


PLATE    XLI. 

DlNICHTHTS  f  I'RECUR80R,  Newb.  (p.  51), 

Dorsoniedian  sbield,  natural  size. 
Comiferous  limestone,  Sylvania,  Ohio. 


m 


f 


I 


k 


f 


WONOORAPH  XV       PUTC  XLI 


^Wffff 


PLATE  XLIL 


PLATE    XL II. 

TRACno8TEU8  Clarkii,  Nowb.  (p.  167). 

Fig.  1.  Fost-dorsolatoral  plate?,  hnlf  natural  size. 

2.  Eye-orbit  with  ring  of  sclerotic  plates,  inuer  snrrace,  natural  size. 

3.  Mandibles,  right  and  left  broken  at  anterior  extremity,  natural  size. 

4.  Premaxillary  ? ,  natural  size. 
.'>.  Maxillary?,  natural  size. 

6.  Tubbrculatiou  where  least  crowded,  showing  stellatiou  of  bases  of  taberclea. 

7.  Tubercles  where  most  crowded,  enlarged. 

Cleveland  shale,  Berea,  O^io. 


314 


. 


li 


PLATE   XLIII. 


I 


PLATE    XLIII. 

RlllzoDt's  ANCKi-H,  Newb.  (p.  191). 

Fio.  1.  Auteriorha.f  of  mandiblu,  natural  size.     Saint  Louis  limestone,  Alton,  HI. 

DiNicHTHYs  Tkrhelu,  Newb. 

2.  Pineal  fontoiielle,  inside,  natural  size.    Cleveland  shale,  Sheffield,  Ohio. 

DiNiCHTiiYs  MINOR  r ,  Newb.  (p.  149). 

3.  Pineal  fontancllo,  natural  size.    Cleveland  shale,  ShefBeld,  Ohio. 

TlTANICHTHYS  CI.ARKII,  Mewb.  (p.  133). 

4.  Tooth  T,  side  view. 
4*.  Section,  natural  size. 

Cleveland  shale,  Berea,  Ohio. 


316 


^ 


I 


PLATE   XLIV. 


PLATE    XLIV 


Cl.ADODUS  Kepleri,  Nowb.  (p.  103). 
iio.  1.  Under  side  of  anterior  half  of  body,  showing  head  with  eye-orbits,  mandibles  with  teeth, 
opercular  shields,  branchial  arches,  base  of  dorsal  spine,  and  pectoral  lins;  about  one- 
fourth  natural  size. 

2.  Tooth,  natural  size. 

3.  Eye-orbit,  natural  size,  somewhat  distorted. 

From  calcareous  leuticular  concretion  in  Cleveland  shale,  near  Brooklyn,  Cuyahoga 
County,  Ohio.  Collected  by  Kov.  William  Kepler.  Original  in  the  Geological  Museum 
of  the  School  of  Mines,  Columbia  College,  New  York. 


318 


U.   8.   aEOLOOICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  XVI      PUTC  XLIV 


PLATE  XLV. 


PLATE    XLV. 

Cladodus  Kepleri,  Newb.  (p.  103). 

Underside  of  anterior  half  of  body;  one-foiirth  natural  size,  linear. 

Counterpart  of  specimen  represented  on  PI.  XLIV. 

Cleveland  shale,  Brooklyn,  Ohio. 


380 


U.  8.  aCOLOOICAL  SURVEY 


MONOORAPH  XVI      PLATE  KLV 


MOIS  tHQ.  CO..  N,  V. 


PLATE   XLVI. 


MON  XVI 21 


J«s««"*'^- 


CI 


PLATE    XL VI 


CLAnoDt's  Fyi.kri,  Nowb. 

Kntirn  fish,  natnrnl  sizp;  Hliowing  n.  eyo  orbits;  b,  opercular  Hbiolds,  pectoral  fliis;  o,  dorsal  gpinof; 
(I,  NCiile-likc  dermal  plates;  c,  ventral  tiim:  /,  edno  of  eaudu'  tin. 
Cleveland   Nliiile,   near   Brooklyn,  Cnyabona  County,  Ohio.      (lollected  by  Dr.  William  Clark. 
Original  in  the  cabinet  of  the  School  of  Mines  of  Columbia  College,  New  York. 


328 


I-- 


I  ! 


in 

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3  ,: 


U.  L  MOLdMAi.  tUftvIV 


■W       KAtt   «bVI 


1 


f 


■■»m.«^.- 


i 


PLATE   XLVII. 


PLATE   XLVII. 

DlXlCHTHYS  IXTERMEDIU8,  Newb.  (p.  (102). 

Fia.  1.  Suborbital  plate,  outside. 
1».  Suborbital  jilate,  iusidc. 

2.  Autcrior  liiteral  viMitral  plate,  iuside. 

3.  Left  maxillary  conipli-te,  Hhowiuft  teeth  on  posterior  marRin. 

4.  Riaht  maxillary,  ontsiile.  uiiieh  worn,  showing  maturity  and  average  size. 
4».  Riglit  Hiaxiilary,  inside,  showing  worn  surfare. 

All  natural  size.    Cleveland  ahale,  Brooklyn,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio. 


324 


U.   a.   OEOLOOICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  XVI       PLATE  XLVIt 


MOia  ttlQ.  CO.,  N,  r. 


l.,3 


PLATE   XLVIII. 


PLATE   XLVIII. 

DlNICIITIlVS  Tkruklli,  Nowb. 

Pio.  1.  Clavicle  seen  from  the  outside,  onc-thinl  natural  size,  linear. 

2.  Some  specimen  seen  I'roni  the  inside. 

Cleveland  shale,  Slicllield,  Oliio. 

DlNICHTHYS  INTERMKDirS,  Newb.  (p.  152). 

3.  Ventral  plate  f 

Cleveland  shale,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


326 


MKJ 


^ 


;:! 


u.  1.  aroLO(ucAL  luRvrv 


M.  A.  KNIOHT,  DEL. 


MONOORAPH  KVI      PlATt  MLVIII 


Most  IHO.  CO..  N,  V. 


PLATE   XLIX. 


".'WWH-'W^^-'^'^  :-?rv^-'i". 


PLATS    XLIX 


AcriNOPHORUs  CI.AKKII,  N«wl..  (p.  nr,). 

p,„    ,   „..,.  P.c,.„.  .n.,  „. ™.  .."".-  »'  "«"•  -'  •-•  ■""'°'  """"""*'  "" 

■     ■       mandU.les  and  teeth,  natural  size. 

1».  Scales  enlarged. 

CLADomis  Fyi.kri,  Newb. 

...•      „f  1,  .,lv  9h..winK  myocom-uata  or  septa  .lividing  them. 

2.  Tail  and  posterior  portion  of  bod.v  show  mt,  mj 

3.  Ventral  iitiH,  mil  oral  size. 

Cleveland  shale,  C'.«veland,  Ohio. 


m 


P,ir~- -^^  cy^f-i'-  ^     f~  ^ 


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U.    8.   OEOLOaiCAL  fiURVEV 


MONOOflAPH  XVI      PLATE  XUX 


^^^.:*«i::^fj 


^PfHiP 


i^^BSl 


PLATE  L. 


'.iyi'-zk  .  ^Ji'ii^ 


' 


PLATK     L. 

))iNiciniiYs  TKUiiKi.i.i.  Nfwb. 
FlO.  1.  Plrtto  lbr..ii..K  i)ostmi,.r  Intrrul  .ii.kI.'  "f  .rHirnnn,  natural  8iz«. 
Cleveland  hlialo,  Shenield,  Ohio. 

Dink  THYs  <Turr8,  Ktiwli.  (p.  V>*>). 

2.  Antirior  ventral  plato,  natural  Hize. 
Cleveland  Hliale,  Cleveland,  t)lii<'. 


SW 


w 


U.    6    GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


MONOGRAPH  KVI       PlATE  I 


PLATE  LT. 


Ill 


PLATE    LI. 


UlMCnXllYS  INTI-.ICMKDH  s,  Ntiwlt.  (ll.  152). 

K....  1.  Kxt>.rior  viow  of  cruni.nn.  Hh„vvin«  s.,....r.,i.al  u..uxin»r.v^  ,l.t..  in  ..oHHion.  o„«-thir.l  n..t,.r.il 

..  AZl!:!^Z.uiiyo,  .,..,..,,  n,„«:.U.  M,..wi,.«  ,.a«... ia.  a,,..  „.■ ..i.u.  ...at-K.  o,u,.ha.f  nat- 

:..  I.Iu!  :i:w  ..f  Fi«.  ..  s.,..wi..«  na.a,  .n).  vr-'.i.a.  ,,.».  -Hhnu.i..  ,)•  an-l  piuoal  ..ntan.,.!.,  iu 
ctlimoiil  plat)'. 

Cleveland  ulial.-.  ClfVflaiKl,  Ohio. 


■ 


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Corporation 


33  WIST  MAIN  STRHT 

WItSTER.N.Y.  M9M 

(716)  S72-4S03 


Ka 


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Sisass'ssi. 


% 


PLATE   LII. 


1^ ' 


IHMIU-ai^>^ 


PLATE    T-IT 


Fk^ 


DiNicHxnrs  intekmedius,  Nowb.  (p.  152). 
1    i„.i.U,ofcrani»nMlunvin.Mn,.rf...t.«pra-Hcapulnrplate«inplacc,„ne.halfnatnralsi.c. 

:::;pi;;T-'oxter„al  occipital-  ,,parietalT,  «,supra.«cap.ua;  d.  aorso.ne.l.an. 


334 


U.   8.   OEOLOOtCAL  SuRVfY 


MONOGRAPH  XVr      PLATE  LII 


CS9  i 


PLATE  LIII. 


PLATE   LIII. 


DmiCHTHYS  CCRTU8,  Newb.  (p.  156). 
FlQ. 


,  1.  Rifiht  maiulible,  outside. 

2.  Supra-scapular,  insitle. 

3.  Sclerotic  plate,  iiiHidc. 

4.  Sclerotic  plate,  outside. 

All  natural  size. 


■>     !■«— »»I«W 


=— a 


. 


p.'^.. 


1 

I 


INDEX. 


[Fit:ute»  iM  heav.v.face.1  typn  luJicato  ,m«e8  on  whio)  descriptions  are  given.] 


A. 

Acanthaapis,  !15-3T. 

arniatiis,  .-la.aT,  292. 
AcantlioiloH,  ISS. 

pristis,  60. 
AcantliolopiH,  asi-.IS. 

pustulosus,  34,  28-. 
AcondjlacatitliUH,  "OX- 

occitlentalis,  'JOO-'iOS,  280. 
Actinopliorus,  1T4-177. 

Clarkii,  ir.V»rO,  :i2'. 
jEliil)ali«nariiiari,221(no(<'). 

AKa«m>!,  AloxandtT,  fl»i.  ro.nains  funnshwl  by.  13. 
Agassi/.!  I..,  ciU.,l,  97,  M,  101,  102,  10!.,  110.  113,  114,  .78.  1,9 

180.  184.  195,199,217. 
AntliiKins.  18!). 

nrouatun,  a08,a09,  268. 
.    cucuUus.  208. 
Apciioduft,  108. 
Ar(lia>ol)atis,  184. 

gigas,  191,274,276. 
Aspiciiclitiiys,  26,  r,9,  rt|-»4. 

clavatus,  »3,r4,  30^ 
ABpidorhynchus,  100. 
Asteroplychins  elegans,  ITO,  ITT,  2«0. 

St.  Liidovici,  176. 
Asterostous,  44, 4S. 

sii  nocoplialus.  44.  290. 
Atthi'y,  Hancock  and,  cited,  227. 

B. 


Tl^ikna  T.P..cited,227. 

B.rrando  describes  spine  of  Macbxracan'hns  under  name 

of  Cteuaeantlius  liohcmicus,  29.  ,>„„=„„ 

Boccher,  C.  E.,  fish  ren,ains  collected  by,  60.  85,  8B,  90, 98, 100, 

102,  lo:i. 
Bothiiolipis,  IOS-1  m. 

L,,idyi,  109,  lll,lia,-8«,270. 
minor,  I I'J,  270. 

Biadlcv.Fn-.c""'''^''""  "''"'''' ™""''"'*"',    ,,      m 
,„...klaud,  leeth  of  Clunncra  Towns.ndii  descr.M  l^v,  49^ 
Biitters,  Alexander,  flsl.  i-emains  collected  by,  200,  J15,  218 
22!. 

C. 
Callognatbus,  69-TI. 
rigiila  is,  60,  TO,  284. 
sorratus,  TO,TI,284. 


Callorliyncbns.  40. 

Carboniferous  limestone,  flsbesofthe,  181. 

Carboniferous  rocks  moilo  of  formation  of.  77, 78. 

Carbi  niferous  system,  tisbesof,  75-227. 

Carcbarodon  niegalcidon,  80. 

Uarr,  J.  C  fish  remains  coU.ected  by,  213. 

CatskiUgroup.Hshc-s  of  the,  106-120. 

Caudaxiilli  grit  yields  only  one  fossil  (Spirophyton,  a  sea- 

weed),  26. 
Ceplialaspidic,  33-37. 

Ciiamb(>rlin.  T.  C,  tish  remains  furnished  by,  47. 51. 
Ciiariicmlus.  19'.'. 

niarginatus,  199. 
Chcirolepis,  63. 
(;hemung  group,  fishes  of  the,  82-X06. 

j  ^'"''Townstndii  of  Buckland,  perhaps  generioally  identical 
with  Hhynciiodns  frmgens,  49. 
Choiriatodus,  31,  184. 
Cbondruateidai,  41-45. 
I  Cladodus,  174, 185. 
c.arinutus,  103. 
concinnus,  ITO,  272. 
Fyleri,  322, 328. 
Kepleri,  103, 104,  318,  820. 
Pattcrsoni,  171. 
Bomingeri.  ITT,  ITS,  281. 
Terrelli,  ITO-IT'J,  284. 
tttmidus,  IT^,  284. 
Clark  William,  tish  remains  colleoled  by,  122,  124, 12S.  134, 

135,  130, 147, 151,  l(i8, 169,  173, 175,  181,  m,  197. 
CUrkc,  J.  M.,  described  Dinicthys  Newberryi.  60. 
fish  remains  named  by,  01. 
cited,  163. 
Claypole,E.W.,citcd,19,20 

described  remains  of  llsl.  now  called  Holonema,  93. 
acknowledgments  to.  94. 
Cleveland  shale,  nature  and  eitent  of;  123. 
flsiics  of,  126-181. 
list  of  iislies  of,  130. 
(;oal  Measures,  Ushes  of  the,  210-228. 
Coccosteus,  132, 137,  141, 142, 143, 145,  ll». 
docipiens,  290. 
occidcntalis,  H'i,  53, 290. 
Cochliodus,  184. 
Coelacauthus  elegans,  213. 
ornatuB,  !J9T. 
robustns,  'i'iH.  m> 


HON    XVI- 


-22 


i: 


338 


INDEX. 


Copts  I'-"-";'     „,.,,|,.,i  bv  ii'4. 

.•itca.no,ioo.2'-:"-  ,.,.«.  , 

C„;;if..r.m,Un..Mo....,M..."of,^6-32. 

Crossoiiti-'ycxln-'  ''-i"' 
,»\.normii<.K'>y"""'"' 


fc.rnuwiis.  1-" 
n,.rri>.oiil,202. 
LUtoui.  105.  i»«  •-'*«*• 

paivnUis,  Ifi!*- 

Randnlli.  »«*• 

a,,ciMos"i'.  10=.  IM-  :    , 

tcnmstri»tii8,105. 

,  cU'StuB,  2W>-  _ 

Wris.Uti.«J,0«6»,282. 

Ct.-no(lu9,123.124.2)4. 

Ohioei.3ii..-J'-»0.»**- 

l,.vis,9l,2'^- 
minutuK.  ftl.-^*- 
>-«li«oi.i,  S».2»*- 
quailra*"".  '-St- 

tb08,29. 


ni„U.Mlnv»-C«B«naed-   ^^  j,^.  1 5»-»  »••  2«.  2«»- »"• '«'• 

iiitiruuMUiis,  mo.  •■'"i 

;Cue;i,5^«4,«5..53,2M..  ^  ., 

Ki'wbiTV.vi,  l'>;i. 

r"rr.f m  »?'m  WO.  142, 14a,  147, 1S3, 154, 158, 238, 

O40  242  24i,i»'4. 206,  318,  328,330. 

„,l,..rc..latu»,»H.2»4- 
Hililill'Ulltllus,  83. 

r>iiiliMlu»l"tu«,214.  , 

n,pl0K..«U..,B,  150-161. 

,„ini\.llU.  1 5»-«« '•->-•■ 
Wl.noi,  85-»05. 
Dlpfenm,  ST,  227. 

l,ivl»,  «0.  284, 
mimitni.,»».284- 
N,.lHoni.  H9,  284. 
rarti«tu«   »'».28<-   „  „«4 
Sheiwoo'li***''*®''^ 
Drcpa"»<-aiitlui!>,  105. 

gcinmatim,  195. 


D«otjlodu«,185.  ,M,  185, 105, 199.208. 

srri:-""-^^^^^^  "-"■■       1 

fish  ■o.n»i.w  <>>•«■•■■"*•' ''>''''^*-  ! 

cited,  182, 187, 210.  „,,..»  umlcrlakfii  by.  I"- 

l,e«..,Ba«bfor,l,™icnmop»-.  r..«u»c  j,^„„  „,  .js,  j 

Delaware,  Ohio,  fiBh  ren.a.nB  tolleae.l  1-5  . 

40. 
Dellodus,  181. 
l)emlrodu«,183,188,189. 
Devonian  r...l<M!r..«P»<-f. -3- 

DevoniKii  ««!>'■»■ '"'«'"  "''■-■'■,       ,  „. 
.trati.n.pbi«l.UBUib..tio«..f,25. 

P6  Cewvlllc,  C«.m<!a, ......«"«!! '  f  "^''"any 

foRsilH  at,  23.  -^ 

r,„i.htUyB,2M30,13l,"2.».U^-57  18« 

„tru.'tare  and  relatiou*  "f,  13.5-144- 
the  flna  of,  141-140. 
theeyo»of,14ft-148. 
coiniKatuB.I.'il,*"'^- 


BaeB...B,Btr„ott.re  and  r.-lath.u»  of,  217-224.         . 

l)aviBi,222. 
^i^b:SS?o.222,223,»«5,30-. 

minor,  225,  308. 

vorax,  225.  «.„iii««  of  RhynchoduB,  47.  . 

EB<.rton,l'hiUp,cit«d«uafttniUesofK 

Eichwald,  K  ,  .^it«<l.  lO";^ 

Elanniobinnehii,  37-41.  IW»- 

EucU-niuB,  aslS. 

Euryln'l^  2>2.  228-  '        ' 

corrntiatiis,  228. 

llneatuB,  228. 
EuBtheDopteron.  63. 

Canada  by,  03. 

O. 


Gauocrphala,212("°"')- 

I  lianoidiil,  41-45.  ,  ois  AT  268. 

!  (Unorh5U.hnBlWcch«.»5»7.         .^j^^„.,by.2». 

j  oebhard,  W.  G    "T  ■;,:,,  c,e„acanth«.al,nonni..«. 
lG"""=>.';;f'^'':^^:^.on„dby,51,125. 

''"'"'•'•        V«-»5»  160.  101.  198. 1"- 
verrucoaiB,  « '»''•'•"'' 

Olyptohl'TOllB,  117,  11* 

Ul'vpC'lf-P'"' "'•, , 
.  GlyptopomuB,  117.  l'"' 

I  Kiimairdi,  117- 

minor,  117.      ,,„  „^ 

S«yrol.U«-«  «»■''"*• 

.    1  Gonatod..".  125  (""'"I" 


INDEX. 


339 


GonBtodnnBralnordl,  298. 

(Jonioaus.  «»-«»• 

nert7,cri,  60,  09,  284. 
r.nuUl,  I..  T.,  n.U  ren.ain»  f"'""';,- *;,;/",;;,  47,  M,  02,  00. 
,i„..m-  'n,onm«  A.,  HhI.  remain..  turnWeU  i.J , 
()i-„,ll..T,  .-ill.!.  183,  224  (note). 
GjTiiiftiilli""'  124. 

.Mlcni,  1211. 

Itiriiiosi:-*,  '.18. 

inovniitiii'.  IT»  270. 

Sherwooili,  tl9.ViO,-M. 
II. 


HiBclieI,E.,.iU'.l,4.. 

Hull,  JivnK-K.  <■'""'■  ^'■''-•,„,, 
,l„l,v,i.ii.ii.i.>l'-"'il»'"'V'>'"- 

HainiUmi  pimV.  """-•;''■.';,■ ''-''• 
Haiicmk  ami  Altl.i-y,  cilo.l,  -I- 

i;Uk«,.Ii'li"."*"™"'""'' '""'"' ^^' 
Hfirpncanlliii".  Wl- 

Hnibliatiis,  'iO-i.  272. 
noli"l.atiHr.iai:i.i>.,22U.no(e). 

jjclioiliii',  85-87. 
irilibi'liilii".  "•■*■ 
l,,.sl,.vi,  86,87,200. 

Her^/:«r;;..->a...,..-..awai...,0,ilo, !.,...« 

50   00,61,04,09.70.73,125,140. 
H,.tevaiaiit'iii»,02,«."S,««- 

,i(.Utlii',0«,'-72. 
Hi.k»,I,.K..itHl,12fl; 

sri::"-r:^:^.m22i.m 

Holncc'pliali,  '•''-•'•'• 
Ilolmiciiia,  »!*-!♦•'*■ 

v,,|:(isa,»:«-«S,2C4. 

Hol..piycliiii«,i«7^ 

Anii'iitanus,  11.1,  •:o». 
;igu„t..,is:10l,10-|268 

pru.iilat.i^,I««.«»»'2^'>- 
Ilallii,  ll».270. 

iiuntllliisill',  •**'••-'''■       „     . 

,ra.Uali.«-H5.  ••«''-'"• 
tulmrciilatus,  101,208. 

Bhulo  of  Amliowa,  and  M.« 


dua  59  (..o<e),  140  (««««),  140.  IS- 
Ko..ickM.d..,.««»U«»h.le-n..oab>,86. 


Lankexter.E.Ktty,  0110.1,19. 

Lel.lv, .I08..ia.,  fl«l.  roumiim  <lo»cribed  by,  107,108. 
dtv.l,  113, 182, 187,210,217. 

I,,.ptaoaiitliiis,  207.  „,.„ii,v  «.;  92  94,95,'.w,  101,112, 

,.ill,.y,  A.  T.,  11»1.  n«..>»in«  .•,,alBCt..a  Is ,  85, 92,  «4, 1 

i    ,^  ,  Wimani,  «-h  r...„.ii,«  fonml  by.  .9    0.. 
,r.„.,,Ohi..,li»t..ff-»i' «»'»•"'■»»»'' '''•2''- 
I.iogimthim  K|,at«lat.i.i,  5J  290 

UtW.1,  A„  n.l.  loinaiii"  .ol  oaed  '-yi^o-'  ;0*-  __^^     ^ ^^ 

T..,,.c,t.  .lax.  fl«..v.-iiiai,i.  .......    '^  «"'f,   .  ^^.U,  „,„„,  of, 

Lower  (iaibmiiferiiii*  r,..k.  of   Now 

L„wo:ci>-..«»"...-one,..tof..no,.ofH..e„.V 

L,e«,cL.«.«n  geologic.  plaeeofOrUkanyaacdslone,  23. 


M. 


Macli,oiac.mtb..»,28,29, 31, 37-41. 


l,m.|or,:l»,288. 
,,oni,-..tuH,3H,W,40,288. 

.„.U.itiw,40,4l,288. 

S..llhaiiti,27,300.  ,.„„„,„*  Doiawar.\01iio, by,27, 

Mai  1  U   i..,HahroraaiuB.on6cmlat  ULia« 

Ma,.:aO.,fra«n.e„.aofP.a.oder.«sUe,.n,„..eaalo..o. 
Ma/..a.i«,  •»»*-'*''^.  „2 

M:r:"k"K!^rei,,ainsf«r„UUea.,y.27. 
Mover,  H.  von,  <i{.Hi,  43,90. 

Miilov.  II..Cl>-  '■""'•  "'• 
Morris,  .Tohn,<it.-.l,H>»- 
Mvlostoma.  1«I-1«M»; 

■  r,:s.'r.i..'."i«.*"« 


L. 


sr.-rsi,-'-;Si";..». 


,,  .,.    ,K  lins  riiriii-fboa  by,  90. 

!  ,    ,      ,,  Ohio  Ma.:U«haloi.l.Mitical  with  n«r..n«liale, 

Ohio  Bbalo  .11  l'">" 

"',f  .,.vi  a  annio  of  a  .ruata.oan  nii-takon  for  that  of 
Oncbiix  Dowey  1,  a  8i>i>. 

,1  flsb,  20- 
Dn.husbanialns.iar.. 

0„yei,..aa,,24;;:.^w.UM^-^ 

1  "'■'"•"••,'.,■  \a  37    72, 221, 298, 302, 304. 

I  Oracanthu8,33.3l. 

1  Orod«8,18b. 

"•""'"frm'M.r-iO«,284. 
ra.iio^i."  lo.',  '"'•  ""  "        -»  ogo 

lortboi.l-.o.'-^"'^""*""''*"' 


340 


INDEX. 


Orton,  K.,  fl'<li  remains  fonml  by,  72,  »4. 

litfil,  12». 
liwiu,  I)  1) ,  aud  .I.(i.  Xorwoiiil  )iul)li.ilit><l  (l-'SciipHoii  iif  fiw»il 

AhU  frimi  I'liliozoic  km  kn  <il'  Imliaiia,  117, 41. 
Owoii,  Klcbuul,  UO,  Ml,  217,  218. 

r. 

Pagp,  Dnrld,  tlsh  lYiunlna  foiiiul  b},  I4ri. 
Pnlxaapia,  uue  of  the  earliest  known  llshee,  20. 
PalieoapliUH,  K6. 
Pala-oniscus  Devoniensie,  60. 

Braii;eidi,  12.'). 
Paitiier,  C.  H.,  •"  ooncdoiits"  discovered  by,  14. 

eited,  31,  40,  02,96.110,227. 
Patterson,  1!.,  tl»!i  reiuuina  found  by,  103-104,  l!!2. 
Petalodoutidie,  185. 
Petrodus  l!utter8r,284. 
PctroduHf  iici8liilo.su»1, 178. 
Phaneroplenron,  0,1. 
PhoderaeautbiLS,  185, 
Pba-boduR,  174. 

pnirinH,  1  r  3,  174,284. 
Sopliia'.  174. 
Pbyllolepis  delieiitiila.1»r.9S,2M. 
Pliymmemus,  lA-i-lttN. 
atciiutiiH,  U>5, 200. 

Altouensis  of  St.  Jobii  and  Worlben,  38. 
gigas,  lO,*). 
ilellatin,  -too.  273. 
riaeodi-rnii.  :t:t  :i7,  Al-.t.-i.  I4»M-I  l-J,  i:co, 
PUiiotluiiax  AgaHHi/ii  of  vuu  Meyer  ideutical  with  Mtcro. 

ItetalielitliyB,  43. 
Pnisearantbus,  34. 
Pol>odou,  43. 
PoIyrhimduK,  ISS. 

Ulloiii.  aO»,!J10,26g. 
PridtaeantlHiM  meurin,  61. 

veleHtllH,  BO,  01, 
PriBli«,  221. 
INainiModus,  184.  ^    ,*  '       ;^ 

iiiili<|UUH,  20.  -  ^. 

glypluH.'JIO,  208. 
KiandiN,  IBt, 
pl<  nni,  lot. 
Pteraspin.  one  o.  tbo  wtrlient  known  flabei,  1ft 
Pleri.  htbys,  TO. 

Ptycli«lim.82,fl;i,««,09.  '        " 

caleeolurt,  02. 

R. 

Itandall.  F.  A.,  flsU  remalnii  colleeU-d  by,  i*8,  80, 80, 91, »«,  103, 

1(1  J. 
Kead,  M.  C,  Hull  remains  eolle,  lid  liy,  12B,  128, 214. 
ICInidinielilbys  (  linealun,  •MH. 
Khixodiis,  lO't.  lHi<.  18,1,  IU4. 
'^    'ep»,  101-194,  ^10, 
ililiinlll,  187,102. 
Itb>n('biidiis.  20,  49-91. 
,    eiasxus,  49,90.280. 
excHvatiiH.  90,  91  288. 
franuens,  20,  :0,  4H,  40  284. 
~  (Irw:ii'l,  .'•1,(12. 

oieidentuliB,  02. 
■eiaiis.  20,  40,  4T,  4«,  280. 
KiiiKueUiiK,  K.  >'.  H, denerlbed  remaiui uf  Ulnieblhyi,  Dvw 

eslled  Dinirblbjs  ItliiyiielierKi.  «U. 
Boiucr,  A,  ellod,  :i»  innU). 


Koenior,  Ferd.,  cited,  ISii, 

UoniioKer,  (;.,  fisli  leniains  fiiruisbod  by,  120, 177, 178, 205, 

itidion,  1  V,,ainl  K   A.  Zittil  on  "eoncMlonts"  of  Pander,  14, 


St.,Ti>bn  and  \Vflrtb->n  cited,  :I4,:I8, 174,208,210. 
St.  .lobn,  Oieatea,  cited,  100, 205. 
Kaudalodns,  184. 

craasus.  '.J04,  272. 
Sauripteris,  II'JT. 

Sayrc,  Kobeit  II.,  fisb  remains  furnished  i>y,  UO. 
Scnpliaspis,  one  of  tbo  earliest  liniiwn  llslies,  18. 
Scaiiliirliynclius,  43. 
Scbobario  grit,  fossils  of,  20. 
Sberwoixl,  Audrnw.  tlsb  remains  collecttxl  by,  85, 87, 10),  100, 

112,  no,  120, 124()ir)(.'),127.  •        ,       ;,:•  ,         •. 

Spbenopboriia,  9I,0!J. 

I.ill.-yi,  O'*,  270. 
?j,ir<>pliytou,  a  sea-weed,  the  only  fossil  found  iu  Caudagalll 

sr'il,  20. 
SlelbucantliUH,  fON. 

Altoneusi«,  108,278. 

Li'toni,  280. 

till  .idus,  108,280. 
Stock, 'iboeias,  cited,  M3. 
Sullivan t,  Joseph,  an  early  collector  of  Hsb  remains  in  Ohio.  27. 

T. 

Terrell.  •!  .  li"!!  leiiiains  collected  by,  71,  12,'!,  130, 134, 13S,  1,10, 
144,  140,  147,  l.iO.  1,^,  1,13,  V,i.  1,')8,  100,  163,  16S,  10U,lli8,170, 
172,  171. 
Terrell.  Pal  k.  lUli  leiiiuius  collected  by,  171. 
Tolraptenis,  148. 

TilVany,  A.  K.,  lisb  remains  furnished  by,  62, 
Titaiiidilhys,  i:iO-i:i9. 

Cliirkii,  131.  i:i!l-i:i.1,234,23rt,23K,3l6, 
Aiiaasi/.ii,  125,  Kll,  132,  I  :l:l,  232,  234,  2.18. 
Tracbosteiis,  ini    1U6-I0M. 

flarkii,  l.'i5.  167,314. 
Traqiiair,  R.  H.,  cited.  31,  80,  o:,,  06, 109, 126  (iioto),  IM,  139, 140, 

141,  165, 187,  180,  102,  203. 
TrI'ttychiiis  timliriatus,  IMS. 
Tryjton,  224. 
Tuoiuey,  ^1-,  cited,  210. 

V. 

Van  IWreden,  1'.  .1..  Ilsli  remains  found  by,  85, 88. 

Verueuil,  K.  de,  on  KouluKicul  ploiu  of  Oriskuiiy  laudstone,  23. 

W. 

\V«Kiier,  Frank,  n«b  remains  found  by,  80, 123, 173, 174. 
Way,  Andrew,  Hsh  lemeilis  found  ill  New  Vol  k  by,  84-85,  09. 
Waveily  (iioiip.  Ilshes  ot,  120-120. 

liHoi  Hsliei<  uf,  121,  122. 
Wheeler,  II.  A  ,  tlsb  liliialns  cidliMt.il  by,  207,  226. 
Wbitriives,  .1.  K.iii  pcrilMil  Cunailluii  IIh!i  taiiiiH.  2.Vfl:i. 
WhiltliliV  I!,  r.acknnwl.'dirmcnis  lo.Oi.  112. 
WiHidwsiil.  Hem  ),  lossil  tit,h  de»erlbe<l  and  fliiuro:  by,  210. 

cited.  224. 
Worlben,  S*.  .lohii  and,  cited,  34,  38, 171, 208,210. 
Wnubt,  IJerllu  U.,UBh  remains  found  liy,82,«. 


XIpbia*.  14«. 

Zittel,  K.  A.  Tun,  oitnl,  108. 


z. 


mJif^ 


